Dead, in love
by drumbjo
Summary: Set immediately after Dead and Gone, can Sookie and Eric make things work? Can they both compromise to be together? My first fan fiction!
1. Chapter 1

After a few days the pain and stiffness from the bites and beatings Neave and Lochlan inflicted on me seemed to improve enough to allow me to attend Tray's funeral. Amelia and I were both clad in black as we attended the sombre event, and cried the whole way through. Many had turned out, and even Bobby Burnham was there (under orders of course) to represent the vampires that Tray died serving. Amelia seemed to bond with Tray's ex-wife and son and promised to stay in contact with them following the funeral. I was not too sure she would, and doubted she'd even want to stay in contact with me.

"I don't blame you for his death," she lied as we made our way back from the funeral. She sometimes seemed to forget that she was such a loud broadcaster in range of a telepath, and although her thoughts were not malicious, the truth was that she held me responsible for Tray's death.

I wasn't surprised the next day when she announced that she was to return to New Orleans immediately to meet back up with Octavia and work for her dad. I didn't put up a fight, but was sad to see her leave. She'd been my only company of late, and now that Claudine was dead and Niall had closed the portals between the realms I seemed to have very little friends and family left. I hoped that one day she may forgive me enough to come and see me, but I felt I deserved all I got from her. She'd finally found the man of her dreams and he'd died protecting me.

I hadn't worked since the torment, and was grateful that Eric had propositioned Felipe de Castro into giving me the money Sophie-Anne le Clerq had promised me for my helping her in Rhodes. It also seemed that Eric had negotiated some extra for the fact that I'd saved his and de Castro's neck's from Sigebert's wrath. I had a feeling though that it would come back to bite me in the ass eventually.

I was becoming unwilling to go outside, and grateful when Sam called to see if he could help me at all. I'd written a grocery list and left Sam the money to buy what I needed. I was a little embarrassed that I had to rely on Sam in that way, but he assured me of his friendship and pointed out that I would have done the same thing for him if he was out of action.

He told me that Merlottes was much the same as ever, and the story of me having a car accident had been bought by most – people who were unwilling and too small minded to believe that there was such horror out there as Thing One and Thing Two. I sometimes wished I was one of them, and felt jealous at the blissful ignorance of the time before Bill Compton walked into Merlottes and changed my life forever.

I was anxious to see Bill, but as that involved leaving my house to cross the cemetery to his, it was not something I was able to contemplate just yet. I made a mental note to ask Eric on his progress next time I saw him. If I saw him, that is.

I'd felt anxious and alone without Eric, and had not seen him since he'd brought me home following my 'discharge' from Dr Ludwig's hospital. In the few days since I'd hardly eaten anything, and slept for no longer than 20 minutes at a time. I seemed to spend most of my time aimlessly wandering around my house, trying my damnest no too think about the horrors I went through, or the fact that Eric seemed to have abandoned me again since the attack. There was nothing I needed more than to feel my vampire's arms around me, to feel his support – yet that was the one thing I did not have.

Eric had told me that he was unable to give me any more blood for my healing as we were close to that undefined limit, and seemed to stay away for that reason. What he didn't realise was that his very presence healed me in ways I never thought possible. I yearned for him – every time I heard a noise outside I listed for the tell-tale signs of his corvette coming up the still gravelled drive, or listed for a gentle tap at my window. As I pined for Eric I could tell that there were vampires in my woods at night, and I suspected that there may be weres or shifters in their place during the day. I did know that Eric would not leave me unprotected.

It was two nights following Tray's funeral and the day after Amelia left that Eric finally showed up. I'd spent much of the day napping on and off and had not eaten anything all day. I was in the kitchen absently putting some soup in the microwave when I felt his presence. I hadn't heard his car so guessed that he must have flown here.

He was standing in my kitchen in his trademark black fantasia t-shirt, black jeans and boots and his hair was windswept from his flight over. His sapphire blue eyes bore into me with an intensity that made my knees go week, and I had to hold onto the counter for support. Our gaze was interrupted by the beep of the microwave, and I quickly turned to retrieve my bowl while popping in a True Blood for Eric. After the customary 15 seconds, I removed the blood, shook it and handed it to Eric. It was only at this time did I realise that my hand was shaking.

"How have you been, lover," he asked, eyes still boring into mine, ignoring the blood I'd handed to him.

"Okay, I guess. I still hurt and I can't stop thinking about what happened to me, to Claudine, Tray, Clancy and poor Bill. How is he?"

"I'm more concerned about you, have you been sleeping okay?" He'd stepped closer to me, eyes still on mine, studying me for a reaction while drinking his blood and discarding the bottle in the sink.

"On and off, I keep on having nightmares that I'm taken again, and no one can hear me and no one comes. I relive the pain, biting and torment they inflicted on me. And then I wake up alone and in tears, and I have no one to talk to." I know that I'm whining, but I can't help myself. "You never come to me in my dreams," I whispered, feeling my anger rise, "just like you didn't come when they took me."

I saw a look of pain and guilt cross his beautiful face, and felt it in the bond as well, along with a glimpse of anger. Why was he angry? Did he blame me for being taken? Does he regret getting involved with me? My emotions were all over the place and changing at a million miles an hour.

"Sookie."

I'd turned my back on him and picked up my soup, loudly slurping up the contents of my bowl even though I did not feel like eating. I couldn't face him, it hurt too much that he'd sent Niall and Bill to rescue me rather than coming himself. What was so important that he couldn't come and rescue his bonded and wife from being tortured. Wife? Was I really admitting that to myself now? It certainly wasn't how I'd planned on marrying Eric. I'd had many a fantasy in the months following his curse that we would have a beautiful wedding with friends and family. I didn't expect my marriage to be in Eric's office with the slimy Victor Madden as witness. But then that's vampire politics for you.

"What, Eric?" I snapped, turning and glaring at him.

"Please don't think that I wasn't there for you," he almost whispered, taking a seat at the table. He put his head in his hands, clutching at his hair and staring at the floor. His grief was almost overbearing, and I had to take a seat before I crumpled to the floor. I realised that tears were running from my eyes, and when Eric looked up I saw that his eyes were rimmed with pink tears.

My heart broke seeing him in such pain, knowing it was my words that caused it. "Please tell me where you were. Why did you send Bill and Niall and not come for me yourself?" I moved closer to him and he turned to look at me, a single pink tear falling down his handsome face. I couldn't help myself from running a finger under the tear and popping it in my mouth.

Eric smiled at this gesture, but his face quickly went sombre again. "When Bill called to say that he'd lost you and you'd been taken I was about to fly out of Fangtasia to join the search when I saw de Castro and Madden walk into the bar. I saw the look on de Castro's face and knew that I would have to explain why I needed to leave. Then I felt your pain, it blind-sided me, and I fell to the floor in agony. I knew that you would not survive such torment without my help, and I pushed all the strength I could through the bond, while absorbing as much of the pain as possible. I explained to de Castro and Madden what had happened and that I needed to go to you, but they were insistent that we talk through the area business they had come to discuss." He looked up at me to gage my reaction to what he was telling me.

I realised that I probably had felt Eric through the bond when Thing One and Thing Two were having their fun with body, and also realised that the torture they were subjecting me to would not have been survivable by anyone else. Did Eric save my life without me realising it? I felt a surge of guilt that I'd been blaming him, but this was quickly overpowered by more anger.

"Fine," I snapped, standing up and walking away from him to put my bowl in the sink. "But why not leave de Castro and Madden anyway and come to me, aren't I under his protection for saving his ass from Sigebert? Wouldn't you be doing them a favour in coming to rescue me? Fuck the area business! You should have come to get me." I sobbed, annoyed that I'd cursed at Eric, but being unable to stop myself with the anger I was feeling.

Eric stood up and I felt his strong hands on my waist. He lifted me up and sat me up on the counter, standing between my legs as his hands held my hips in place to stop me from struggling against him. I started to protest, but he stopped me by placing a firm kiss over my mouth. If I hadn't been so tightly wound up I would have reciprocated his affection, but I struggled against him.

He looked deeply into my eyes, and I swore he could see into the depths of my soul. He let out an unnecessary breath and continued his explanation. "Sookie... if I'd gone against de Castro at that point he'd have happily killed me for my insubordination. He'd given me a direct order in front of Madden, Pam and other area vampires that I was not to go to you until the meeting was over, and if I had tried to do so he would have had reason to kill me then and there."

The thought of de Castro killing Eric filled be with fear, and I thought I might hyperventilate were it not for the calm coming through the bond and the small circles Eric was rubbing on my back with his large hands.

"Surely you could take de Castro out? You're the strongest vampire I know, you were a Viking warrior, could you not have fought against them?"

He looked deep into my eyes and leaned in, resting his head against mine. We stayed like that for a few minutes before he continued.

"I was weakened by your pain and suffering, I was trying to absorb all I could to help you. I would not have had the strength to fight de Castro and Madden. It was a no win situation. I'd managed to call Niall before my meeting with the Nevada vamps and I knew that Niall and Bill would do everything they could to help you. They were the two I knew that would not stop until they had you safe."

He leaned back and looked in my eyes again, probing the bond for some indication of what I was feeling. Truth is that I didn't know what to feel. He didn't come to me to help, and sent Bill and Niall in his place, but then without his strength I probably wouldn't have survived the torment and torture Neave and Lochlan inflicted on me. I felt his guilt and his sorrow and again saw a single tear role down his perfect cheek.

It hurt to see this great warrior of a man in such a way, and it increased my guilt that it was me causing him this pain. I realised I had no reason to blame him, and his reaction to my deadly situation only showed how much he loved me. Wait, love? Niall told me that the vampire loved me, but never quite clarified which one he meant. Sure Bill had come to my rescue, yet under his Sheriff's orders – would he have risked final death to come and get me without a direct order from Eric. I know Bill still had feelings for me, but I was beginning to have my doubts he would risk his existence for me the way Eric would. Eric had always been there for me, whether I needed him to. He may have been manipulative, but since saving me from Longshadow the second time I met him and that bullet in Dallas, he had always been there for me, and chastised me for risking my life when he could not help me.

I knew I had to ask Bill these questions, I had to be sure that it was Eric who was the vampire Niall meant. But my feelings for Eric were in the here are now, and I looked back at Eric landing a soft kiss on his cheek where his tear had left a mark. He ran his hands down my legs, and I winced as his hands came across some of the bites and bruises. As I was wearing a pair of long sleep pants he was not able to see the extent of my injuries.

"You're still hurting? I can help if you'll let me," his eyes almost pleaded with me, and I couldn't refuse his help. He stepped back and I hopped of the counter, taking his hand in mine and leading to my bedroom. He quickly shred his boots, jeans and t-shirt and then gently removed my vest top and pants, sitting me down on the bed and surveying my injuries with his vampire sight.

I was watching his face carefully as he examined my injuries, gasping as he gently touched the worse ones. I could see the concern and hurt both through the bond and on his face, and when his eyes returned to mine he eyes were deep pools of blue that I felt I could dive into.

"I can heal you if you'll let me," Eric asked earnestly.

I was surprised as he'd told me we'd reached that mystical limit that could not be crossed, and asked whether it was okay for him to give me more of his blood. "I thought you weren't able to give me more blood, I don't want to become a vampire, you know that, Eric."

"I know Sookie, and I give you my word that I will never turn you without your permission, or ask anyone to do the same. I know that you do not wish to be vampire" I could tell that he was stating the truth, and I was grateful for that, but I also detected a hint of sadness through the bond. "And you have had a lot of my blood recently, we may not be able to exchange blood for another week or so, and then only a small amount, but my blood on your skin will help the healing process and will not endanger you."

I nodded my permission and he pricked his finger on his fangs and gently rubbed his blood into the worse of the my bites and bruises. I felt instantly better, not only from the blood working its magic in my wounds, but the very fact that Eric was languishing this attention on me. I winced further when his hand found its way to my sensitive area, and I lifted by bottom of the bed to allow Eric to remove my panties easily.

I felt the sorrow in the bond as he attended to these bites with care, and he was meticulous in his work, continually re-biting his fingers to apply his blood to the bites.

When he was finished he crept back up the bed and pulled me to him, my back to my chest. He pushed calming feelings through the bond and I felt at ease, more at ease than I had before I was taken by the evil fairies. He pulled the covers over us and I slipped into a deep sleep, happy and content for the first time in days.


	2. Chapter 2

Eric had been busy at Fangtasia the following nights with area business, and it seemed that de Castro was still somehow punishing him for trying to rescue me. I also got the impression, however, that the Nevada king was also pissed at the fact he'd not been informed of my fairy heritage, and that Eric was in trouble for not informing the king of this – not that Eric would tell me, of course. Sophie-Anne had known the truth thanks to Andre's gift for tasting the bare minimum of fairy blood, but she would not have made it known to other vamps in case they tried to take me away from her. I was also worried that de Castro would use this as an excuse for me to go back to Las Vegas with him, but had confidence that Eric would do everything and anything in his power to keep me in Louisiana, and if I had to go and see de Castro, Eric would certainly be by my side.

Although he was busy at Fangtasia, he would still come and see me every night, even if only for an hour or so, and I would awaken to feel my cool firm vampire lying in bed with me. Just him being there was an enormous comfort to me as he held me in his arms, gently nuzzling and licking my shoulder, or whispering his ancient words into my hair. I had no idea what he was saying, and he could have been reciting a shopping list or an instruction manual, but his words were beautiful and calming, and allowed me to sleep for longer than I had in the days since escaping Neave and Lochlan. And the extra sleep seemed to allow me to heal, both in mind and body.

He also continued to heal my injuries, though refrained from biting me and taking any blood from me. I'd kissed him while laying in bed wrapped around him, but we had not gone further than that and he had not got aroused from our intimacy. I was in some sense upset by this – was he disgusted at my body with its bite mark, cuts and bruises? Did he not want me that way any more?

As the nights went on, this began to bother me more and more, until finally one night I waited for Eric to arrive, fully dressed and prepared to state my case. I could not face being hurt by Eric further and needed to know whether he still desired me, whether we would be able to have a relationship together that didn't involve him rubbing his blood into my wounds and lulling me to sleep. I knew we needed to have that talk.

When he crept into my room, he cocked an eyebrow at me seeing me fully dressed and waiting for him and he remained still within the door frame.

"My lover, are you better? You look like you have something to say."

I couldn't help myself, "Eric what is wrong with me? Why haven't you bitten me or even tried to have sex with me?" I looked at him, searching his eyes for some kind of answer. I could feel his shock at my question. "You've never held off before – do you not want to be with me? What is this between us? Is this just your guilt at not being the one to come and rescue me? Do you feel that you have to get me back to tip top condition before you're free to move on, to fuck some nameless fangbanger on the desk in your office!" I was shouting by the end of my speech, and I realised that tears were streaming down my face.

I turned away from him to look out the window into the black knight, not wanting to meet his eyes as he looked at me from still within the door frame. He crossed the threshold into my room and sat on my bed, eyes fixed on the back of my head. He said nothing, and I could tell that he was waiting for me to turn around before he would answer my questions. I guess in some ways I was glad that he was still there, that he hadn't taken the time to leave, using my mood as an excuse to not spend any time with me. It was a battle of wills, but I knew that my vampire had a thousand years of patience and he would without doubt win this battle.

I wiped my eyes on my sleeve and then turned and looked at him. "Don't lie to me," I pleaded, "I only want the truth from you – I can't handle any more lies or untruths anymore. I want to know it all, even if it will hurt me."

"Sookie … I've never lied to you. I may be guilty of not telling you everything, but there are some things about me that at this stage, you do not need to know." I know that my face was giving away my emotions – why would he not tell me everything? "I also promise you that I have not bitten or slept with anyone since we bonded in Rhodes."

I could tell the sincerity in his voice and this was backed up by truth through the bond, but I struggled to believe that this ancient vampire could really spend all that time without biting or fucking someone. It was in his nature – was it possible to go this time without?

"I have gone much longer without both, and a vampire of my age does not need as much substinance as a younger vampire. The synthetic blood can sustain me, although you have no idea what your blood does to me. Any other blood tastes tainted after yours, I would happily go another thousand years drinking only your blood." I could feel the lust radiating towards me as he said these words, and I knew he was telling me that he would not taste another.

I was still confused, however, why he did not want to drink my blood now. Obviously sensing my confusion, he moved towards me standing within inches of me, his lust becoming more and more obvious.

"Sookie, you have no idea how hard it has been for me to not claim you this past week. I have wanted nothing more than to ravish you, to drink you perfect nectar, to make love to you, to make you feel as special as you are. But I know that you are still hurting, that your wounds are not fully healed. It would not have been right for me to impose my lust on you, it would have been selfish of me. You are more important than anything else and I'd give it all up for you if I could change what happened to you."

His grief was hitting me in waves and I was struggling for breath. His eyes were blazing with the passion of his words, and I was astounded that he would even consider giving up Fangtasia for me. I always pictured Eric sat on his thrown, his golden hair framing his manly handsome face and emanating the power of a millennium. He fit Fangtasia, yet there was so much more to him. I'd realised over the last week that the Eric I knew and loved when he was cursed was underneath the façade that comes with being Sheriff of Area 5. I was beginning to understand that that was the business face of Eric, the face of a deadly, millennia old vampire with thousands of battles under his belt.

But I'd started to see a glimpse of humanity in him, and I wondered if he considered this a weakness. Considered me a weakness. It was something I needed to think on – was I a danger for Eric? Was my existence risking his? We were bonded, and by vampire law no other could touch me without his permission, therefore surely the answer for any other vampire who wanted a pet part-fairy telepath was to kill Eric. The very thought sent shock waves through my body. I had to ask him.

"Eric, what happens if de Castro or some other vampire takes me from you?"

I stared into his eyes, unable to look away. He seemed to be contemplating his response, and I had the feeling that I was not going to like his answer.

"By vampire law you are my wife. I understand that it is not how you would have wanted to be married, but I had to do what I did to protect you. If I had not I can assure you that by now de Castro would have taken you to Las Vegas with him, and you would be in his retinue. He would not treat you well, and you would likely be his pet."

The very thought of being within a hundred miles of de Castro filled me with fear. Feeling my anxiety Eric picked me, cradling me in my arms and sat on the bed. I snuggled against him, breathing in his familiar scent and felt instantly calmed at the closeness to my vampire.

Eric continued. "Sookie, de Castro would have bonded with you, he would have forced you to drink his blood in the hope that this would have broken our bond."

I was shocked, "Is that even possible, is our bond not permanent?"

"In theory it is possible. De Castro is a strong, very old vampire and he is a king. It is possible that as his blood is so strong, it may have numbed or even overtaken the bond we share. I would probably always have had some kind of bond with you, but then if de Castro was to take you, I'm sure that he would not have thought twice about killing me."

I was on the verge of a panic attack, and needed all of the soothing, calming waves that were coming from Eric to remain in control of myself. I was determined to remain conscious.

I needed to know more, no matter how much I may not like the answer. "But now we're married he can't take me without your permission right?" I also needed him to say yes. I removed my head from his shoulder and looked up into his eyes. He was not answering, how bad was this?

"I do not trust de Castro. Although he was quiet happy to keep me within the confines of Fangtasia while the fairies tortured you and not allowing me to go to you, I fear that he wants you for his self. Vampires can be patient creatures when needs be, and I'm sure he's realised that now is not the time for him to make his move. Maybe he also thought that if he prevented me from rescuing you in person you would hate me for it."

There was a distinct look of sadness in his eyes when he made the last statement. I knew it was time for me to tell him that I forgave him.

"Eric, I understand why you didn't come. I wanted you to be with me more than anything, I needed you to be there. You were the one thing that would have made it all better." Tears were again streaming down my face as I told him this. "I do not hate you, and I'm not sure that I could hate you. I love you."

I couldn't believe I said that. But I knew it to be true. Eric smiled at me, his eyes sparkling with promise. "As I love you, Sookie."

He kissed me tenderly, wiping the tears from my cheeks and I felt his love tumbling through our band and hoped that my love for him was pushing into him. He was exceptionally gentle with me, softly stroking my face and hair, pulling me tightly against his chest.

When I came up for air, he looked into my eyes and smiled. "You asked earlier about our bond. At the moment it may be possible that if de Castro was to bond with you he may usurp the bond that we share, however a bond for love is different. I understand this would be a big step to take, but if we bonded for love it would be unbreakable. No one could take you from me."

"Well lets do it then!" I said without any hesitation.

"Sookie," he looked deep into my eyes, his hands on either side of my face. "There are things you must know about our bond. The bond we have was formed without your prior knowledge. I did not give you the chance or option to refuse the bond. I may have done it to save you bonding with Andre, but every time you took my blood I knew we were getting closer, and I never told you what would happen at that third time. I suspect that if I had told you right from the start then you would have been much more reluctant to take my blood."

He was right. If he'd told me after I first tasted his blood in Dallas, I certainly would not have risked taking his blood again, even in Jackson when my life was probably saved by the strength of his ancient blood.

"So what is the 'bond for love' then?" I enquired.

"You have to understand that it is a very rare occurrence. A bond between a vampire and a human is usually one of dominance, because the vampire wants to possess the human. Maybe because the vampire has some obsession with them or because the human could be of political use. A marriage too is normally a strategic alliance. It reinforces a blood bond and truly states the human as the vampire's property, and no other vampire is allowed access to the human without the bonded vampire's permission. Even touching the human can be taken as an act of aggression toward the vampire. Like a vampire marriage it lasts for 100 years, but as humans do not normally live that long unless they are continually fed vampire blood, it usually lasts until the human – or vampire – dies or until the human is turned."

He looked straight at me to gage my reaction to that last statement. I'd stated on many an occasion that I did not want to be vampire, I didn't think I could exist with all that death and killing. I enjoyed drinking from Eric, but that was now a sexual thing. Biting and drinking from a human made me feel sick. However something Eric said made me curious.

"You just said that humans don't live 100 years without continually being fed vampire blood. What do you mean?" I raised my eyebrow at him in a very Eric-like manor.

"Vampire blood can increase the lifespan of a human. As you already know, it has healing properties, and therefore if consumed regularly over a long period of time the human would greatly slow in ageing and not be subjectable to normal diseases."

This was a lot to take in – _if_ I stayed with Eric would I not age? Could I stay longer with Eric without turning into some agéd crone? This was something else I needed to think about further. I began to feel hopeful that he may not be so quick to turn away from me as I got older.

"Okay, but tell me more about the 'love bond.'"

He let out an unnecessary sigh. "The 'love bond' is one of magic. It can only be formed when there is genuine love between a human and vampire, where there is mutual respect and willingness to do anything the other would ask of them. However I do not know how your fairy blood would factor into this. If it was something we considered I would have to enquire about it. I may need to contact Niall."

"But Niall is gone, the portals have been shut. How could you contact him?" Could I still contact Niall even though he was in a different world now?

"There is a possibility that he can still be reached, but it would not be easy. Its possible there may also be others who could enlighten us on this issue."

I thought for a moment longer. "How is the bond made?" I enquired of Eric, still looking straight into his beautiful sapphire-blue eyes.

"It is one of ceremony. One where the two of us would declare our love for each other, in front of witnesses and join together. Both by intercourse and by mutual blood exchange. It is not something that can be done accidentally during our lovemaking, however. We would need to prepare and arrange this ceremony, and we must drink from each other at the same time leading to mutual ecstasy." He was still staring deep into my eyes to gage my reaction to what he was telling me. I knew this was not something to do now – but maybe in the future?

I knew we needed to think about this further. This seemed a big commitment to make, but what was different to our current bond and marriage? I asked Eric this.

"A bond for love means that neither of us would be able to be with another, and we would not be able to be separated from each other for long periods of time. Our blood exchange would have to continue through necessity, though it is more likely to be an addiction. And if something were to happen to either one of us, the other would not be able to survive."

I was horrified. I gasped, even if I were to drink Eric's blood regularly I would not live forever. And my human frailties were all too present. I could be killed in a car accident at any point, be struck by lightning or murdered by some crazed supe. I was starting to hyperventilate, and Eric just held me in his arms gently rocking me.

After what felt like hours in his arms, thoughts flying though my mind at breakneck speed I finally turned to him. "Eric, you have to promise me, when I die, you must go on. You are over a thousand years old – I can't be the one responsible for your demise. You must promise me not to do anything stupid. Please Eric." I was pleading with him with all that I had, pushing my sincerity through the bond, letting him know that I was deadly serious. I couldn't handle the fact that he may end his existence if we did this.

He didn't answer me, and looked away from my gaze. I couldn't read his emotions, they kept of flicking and changing.

"Fine. Then we will not undertake the additional bond. You said that the bond could not be formed by accident, so we'll carry on as we are. Nothing needs to change. I will not ever leave you, I promise you that. And you must promise you will never leave me. We won't need to form the bond. We can be happy together, I know we can!"

"It's too late for that Sookie," he whispered. I didn't know what he meant. "If anything were to happen to you now, I would not go on. We may not yet have the love bond, but I love you too much. I would not carry on if anything happened to you. I would have to meet the sun the very next morning. I know that I cannot go on without you."

This was too much. I was losing oxygen, and I knew that I was not going to stay lucid for much longer. I was sobbing uncontrollably and my fight with consciousness was lost. The last thing I remembered was staring into his blood rimmed eyes and feeling that my heart was breaking.


	3. Chapter 3

**Eric**

I'd expected more of a struggle from Sookie. I expected my invitation to her house to be rescinded, for her to have more tears and tantrums then she did, shouting at me, blaming me for not rescuing her sooner than I did. Of course she would have expected me to be there, and quite simply I hated myself for not being, for allowing de Castro to dictate what I should do regarding my bonded and wife. For the first time ever I found myself wanting to be King.

I'd never wanted the power and responsibility that came with being a king, and I was happy plodding along in my corner of Louisiana, not being concerned about larger vampire politics. However I would have done anything to ignore de Castro, or to kill him then and there and take Louisiana and Arkansas (I had no interest in Nevada, and would have deferred to the council regarding that state). I had respected Sophie-Anne, she trusted me – as much as any vampire could trust another – and left me to run my area.

Everything changed when Sookie arrived at Fangtasia that night. She shone like a single star in the darkness, and was a fresh of breath air from the regular dross of fangbangers and tourists that filled my bar. I could instantly tell there was something special about her, but I could not quite tell what. I was however instantly drawn to her, and knew I would have her eventually. I could be a patient vampire. I also knew that someone like Bill would not be able to hold on to someone as vibrant and dynamic as Sookie.

I bided my time, and couldn't help at being pleased when Lorena called Bill to her. By vampire standards this was not cheating, it was simply a master/child relationship. I had called Pam to me on similar occasions. However when I learned of Bill's real reason for moving back to Bon Temps I was furious. I would happily of staked him myself. Sookie had trusted him, and although she had left him following the Lorena incident, I knew she would be heartbroken. I was worried that Bill's stupidity would taint her trust in vampires.

I wasn't surprised that Sophie-Anne wanted Sookie for herself, but was surprised at the way she went about it. As sheriff she should have asked me. I was much better positioned to deal with a woman such as Sookie than a pathetic idiot such as Compton. Maybe that was her downfall, that she trusted the wrong people. However I was angered at the way de Castro took over Louisiana and planned on exacting my revenge. But now was not the right time for that.

On the day Sookie was kidnapped by Neave and Lochlan I was in my office in Fangtasia going over some invoices, completely uninterested in the task, but knowing it had to be done. I could feel twinges of anxiety through our bond, but I had become used to this with Sookie, she was an anxious person and often caused herself unnecessary trouble. Then a massive hit of anxiety and fear hit me, with my phone ringing seconds later.

Bill informed me that Sookie was missing, and that it was likely she was taken by the Fairies. If I'd been close enough I would have ripped Bill's head off then and there for not protecting her, but rather growled at him and told him get her back. I was milliseconds away from flying out of the door when de Castro and Madden walked into the bar.

"Northman, I'm glad we've caught you. I do hope you do not have something better you need to be doing?" De Castro new perfectly well I needed to be elsewhere, but I knew that I could not go against him. Pam looked at me and quickly made an exit. I tried to tell her what had happened, and knew she could sense my anxiety. I needed to call Niall.

"If you will excuse me, your majesty, I must go to Sookie, it seems that she has been kidnapped." I couldn't help myself but growl at him, and he raised an eyebrow at me, growling and spitting at me in return.

"You will not. We are here to discuss area business and you will not go running off to another state just because your latest infatuation has been taken from you. She is more trouble that she is worth."

He was trying to get a rise out of me and I knew it. I almost let him be victorious. But how did he know if she'd left the state? I didn't even know that. My suspicions had been roused, and I eyed my sword in the corner of the room, my mind strategising as to how I could take both of them. That was when the first waive of pain hit me from Sookie. For the first time in my long life I fell to the floor in pain. It wasn't necessarily just the pain that took me out, but with the combination of her emotions as well it was too much to handle.

And if I couldn't handle it, how she could she. I quickly realised I would have to appease the Nevada vamps while trying to absorb her pain and panic, trying to send her all the strength I could spare. I did not realise that our bond could stretch this far, particularly if she was in another state. From what I'd heard of blood bonds, they could only truly be felt when the vampire and his human were within 10 miles or so. Sure you may always be able to find the other and have a general sense of them, but I realised that the bond Sookie and I shared was something more, maybe on account of her fairy magic, and of the royal bloodline as well.

I looked up to see de Castro and Madden smiling down at me. They relished my weakness, but were also curious to the strength of the bond. I was desperate to rip those grins straight of their shoulders, but now was not the time. I would not win that battle in my current state. I did manage to excuse myself briefly to call Niall, but the rest of the night was spent talking business.

Both vampires were obviously enjoying my discomfort and pain, and my only comfort was the fact that I knew Sookie to still be alive.

After the longest night of my thousand years plus on this plane, de Castro turned to me. "Now I hope, Northman, that we will be seeing you the next few nights, we still have much to discuss and run over. I feel that we could really make Area 5 a very profitable area. You will contact Compton and have him meet us here tomorrow night at first dark." And with that he turned on his cuban heals and left my bar.

I stared at the door for a few seconds, and was then confronted with another crippling bout of pain and emotion from Sookie, sending me back to my knees. I did not know how she was handling this, but I was so proud that she was fighting with all her might.

It was only an hour before sunrise, so I decided to spend the night in my 'hidey-hole' within Fangtasia. Of course, more of a reinforced, light-tight floor than hole. I entered the combination into the hidden control panel and went down the winding stairs to the underground lair. I had this place expanded when Sookie came into my life, as before it was only used to bring fangbangers down to, but I had not brought anyone down here since, and I'd installed a proper bathroom with human features, a kitchen and a comfortable bed.

I had no intention of meeting de Castro the next night, and also intended on taking Pam and Clancy with me on our rescue mission. I sent Thalia a message to deal with de Castro as best as she could, but not to give him any details, not that she knew any herself.

I left Fangtasia at first dark, and made my way to the hospital where Sookie had been taken. I knew a fairy war was on the cards, and after the night I had had the night before I was looking forward to a battle. I knew I must be careful with Sookie with my blood lust, however, especially if fairy blood was to be involved. When I saw her I was horrified at her injuries, but so grateful she was alive. I would never leave her side again, I knew that much. The bond had been exhausted from the turmoil of the night before, and after examining her injuries I fed her blood. She questioned me when I bit my wrist again after it resealed. I knew I could give her more so that she would not be turned, but I certainly went close to the mark. I realised that if we both lived past that night she would not be able to feed from me for probably close to two weeks.

I told her how proud I was of her, and then she asked the inevitable question of where I was. I flinched at her question, and she told me how much she'd hoped and prayed that I would be there. I wanted more than anything to explain to her, to state my defence, to tell her that I was with her for every second of her ordeal. She was killing me, and I felt my heart breaking at her words. But this was not the time as Breandon's forces would be quickly upon us.

After the battle Sookie and Bill were taken back to their respective homes to recuperate. I wanted nothing more than to stay with her, but knew that I must face de Castro. I knew that this would not be pleasant and I blocked the bond to stop Sookie from feeling what I knew I would be going through. The last thing I wanted was her to have more pain and suffering because of me. When we returned to Fangtasia we were instantly ambushed by more than ten of de Castro's vampires and I was bound in silver chains and beaten to the floor.

After realising that I had passed out from the blood loss, I awoke to find de Castro staring into my face.

"You had an order Northman. You were told to not go to your telepath, and yet you go anyway. Where is Compton?"

"At his home. He lost a lot of blood and is unable to leave at the moment." He sliced my chest deeply with a silver blade.

"So not only do you go to the human, you almost get the biggest money maker in your area killed in the process?"

"She has your protection. You should be grateful we went to get her." I knew this was not the thing to say, but I could not stop myself. Maybe it was the blood loss.

"That is not for you to decide. I am King of Louisiana, therefore these decisions are mine and mine alone. I should kill you right now, however you obviously have some control over the girl, and I intend to enjoy taking her from you." He was actually smiling at me. "There are ways your bond can be broken Northman as I am King, and as soon as my bond with her out powers yours you will not live to see another night."

He and Madden spent the remainder of that night – and the next two nights after that - torturing me, keeping me in chains of silver, slicing and beating me. I awoke the following day in a silver lined coffin in the centre of Fangtasia, and Pam was able to get me out once she came in.

I'd been badly burned from the silver and had lost a lot of blood. I knew I could not go to Sookie that night, and rather went to my rooms below Fangtasia and drank a few bottles of True Blood, along with some donor blood a willing – or glamoured – doctor had supplied to me for such instances from the blood bank at a hospital in Shreveport.

I was desperate to see her, but apprehensive of her response to me. After the torture of the previous three nights I was not sure how I would handle Sookie's rejection. Luckily she had not rescinded my invitation, and after I flew to her home I was able to enter her kitchen.

She was as beautiful as I remembered, though I could tell she had not slept well or eaten as much as she should have. She also looked pained from the injuries the fairies had inflicted on her, and I silently berated Bill and Niall for allowing Lochlan and Neave to have such an easy death.

I had fallen in love with Sookie much quicker than I thought possible. I knew that I had not told her the extent of my feelings for her, and realised that I would have to tell her soon. I hoped that if I was honest with her she may be more willing to forgive my absence once she heard my story. I was grateful that she was open to hearing my words, and although it was one of the most painful things I'd done, I told her of de Castro and how he'd kept me in meetings, how I absorbed her pain and sent her all the strength I could. I could not stand that she thought I didn't care about her, that I did not do everything I could to be with her. I did not want to tell her of my dealings over the past two days, and was relived she did not ask. Though I would not lie to her if she did.

After we finally kissed I wanted to take her then and there on the counter in the kitchen, yet I knew she would still be in pain, even with all the blood she had taken from me before the battle. When she winced from a gentle touch I realised her injuries were worse than I had imagined. She led me to her bedroom, and I undressed us both, her with much more care than I exacted on my own clothes.

I was horrified by the bruises, bites and cuts that remained, and asked her permission for me to rub my blood onto her skin. It was not as effective as her drinking from me, but over the course of a week or so she should be healed. She'd told me again that she did not want to be vampire, and her words felt like a stake through my heart, yet I did not let her feel my agony at her words. After I was done I crawled into bed with her and held her until dawn approached, breathing in her scent and relishing her recovery so I could claim her and show her how much I loved her.

De Castro was still keeping me busy, but I found the time to visit Sookie over the next few nights. I held her, healed her further and comforted her through our repairing bond. I was desperate to taste her, but knew if I bit her I would not be able to not fuck her, and I knew she was not ready for that. Instead I spoke to her in ancient words, telling her stories of my past, and my hopes for the future. Many of the things I told her over those nights I would probably never repeat to her as many involved her becoming vampire and spending the next thousand years by my side.

The more time I spent with her, the more I realised I could not go on without her. She was fragile and human, yet was quickly becoming an addiction. I had made up my mind that once she was gone I would meet the sun the next morning. I would not tell Pam this, but I had started to get my affairs in order for when the inevitable happened, leaving it all to my child. It could be 60 years from now, but my Sookie had a unique affinity for trouble. I would gladly give my life for hers, I would do anything and everything within my power to keep her safe. If I knew she would allow it I would take her to the depths of Scandinavia or New Zealand, as far away from de Castro as possible. I would not need the power that I held now, I only needed her.

When I went to her on the sixth night I expected her to be asleep, however I could sense her anxiety and anger, and when I entered her room she was fully dressed. She at least seemed better, to some extent. I had to withhold my laughter when she asked me why I hadn't tried to sleep with her, did she not know how much I wanted her? However when she accused me of sleeping with the vermin that entered Fangtasia it saddened me. I told her truthfully how I had not bitten or slept with another since our Bonding in Rhodes, and the only reason I had not claimed her was due to the extent of her injuries. I tried to show her that the vampire she came to love when I was cursed was the real me, just without the politics. The memories of our time together had knocked the wind out of me when I started to remember, and I was shocked at the love we shared in that short, yet perfect time.

She seemed to understand that de Castro was a problem, that he would try and take her, and I had to admit that it was possible de Castro could overpower a blood bond, though I was not sure if it would work with ours. Our bond seemed much stronger than other bonds I'd heard of, and seemed to be able to span a much further distance, suggesting a more concrete joining.

And then she told me she loved me.

I think she was a little taken aback that those words slipped out. I could not have been happier. I smiled at her and told her that I loved her. I then told her of the love bond. I'd told her that de Castro could technically overpower our bond being a king, but the bond for love would be permanent and we would be literally inseparable. When she told me we should do it do it, my long dead heart swelled. Yet I knew she had to be sure of it this time and know what she would be letting herself in for.

I explained the bond fully, and also pointed out that her taking my blood regularly would extend her life, and keep her young, something I could tell had been on her mind. I explained the significance of the ceremony and bonding, including the witnessed sealing of the bond through our joining. I think she imagined this to be a public event, however it only involved one other king or council member, and any child of the vampire. I had friends I could trust for this, and I knew Pam would be thrilled at the prospect – even if she would probably wish to join in.

She was seriously considering this, and we lay silent in each others arms, though I was doing my damnest not to be aroused. It was a losing battle.

But I also had to tell her that if we made the new bond we would not survive without each other. She seemed devastated, and knowing the frailties of her human life she eventually turned to me, asking me to promise her that I would not end my existence once she passed on. She was begging me, the love and need flooding through the bond being almost overwhelming. When I didn't answer she told me straight that we would not make the bond if that was the prospect, that we would carry on as we were. She begged me not to leave her, though as if I could.

The thought of her death was devastating, she had to realise that it was too late for me. I already loved her too much. I told her quietly that when she passed I would meet the sun the next morning. It was already the case that I would not be able to survive without her, whether we bonded or not.

She was sobbing uncontrollably, and losing her battle with consciousness. My heart broke for her again, that I could cause her this pain and could feel the bloody tears forming in my eyes. I tried to sooth her, but she soon lost consciousness in my arms.

I gently laid her down in her bed, removing her clothes and inspecting her injuries, she was mostly healed, yet I applied my blood to her remaining bite marks and bruises. They should be healed by the next day. I couldn't resist licking her, savouring her unique taste, and then laid with her watching her sleep. She seemed mentally exhausted from our conversation, and I resented that I had to leave her to return to Shreveport. I had been neglecting Fangtasia of late, and Pam had been berating me about not spending my fair share of time 'enthralling the vermin'.

I needed to get her to stay at my house in Shreveport. There was nothing I wanted more than to wake up next to this woman, to fuck her, to bite her and relish her.

As dawn approached, I took my leave, writing her a note and kissing her gently on the cheek. There was nothing I would not do to for this woman.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sookie**

I awoke the next morning at nine, and for the first time in weeks I didn't feel any pain or discomfort from the injuries Lochlan and Neave inflicted on me. I stretched in bed, squinting from the bright sun shining into my eyes. Then the grief hit. I remembered passing out in Eric's arms, seeing his eyes on mine, rimmed with the tell-tale pink of vampire tears.

I would cause Eric's eventual death. I felt like it would be kinder if I staked him now myself. But could I carry on without him? Besides the fact that he was the one thing keeping de Castro from me, did I think that I could live without him? I craved him, needed him. And I knew now that it was not the blood bond that caused those longings, it was that I loved him more than I thought possible. I used to get annoyed at the whole 'mine' notion of vampires, but I was his. I knew that I was a huge danger to Eric, but that would be the case whether I was bonded to him or not. I hoped that Eric had some kind of plan.

The issue of the love bond was a contentious one. Should we do it? If it would not keep Eric from ending his long life once I died, then why not? Well, the witnessed sex would certainly be an issue, but I needed to speak to Eric more about that. But the pros were numerous. Meaning that de Castro could not bond with me was a massive one, but then would that stop him from kidnapping me. I wouldn't put it past him. This was certainly something I wanted to discuss with Eric further. But this was still marriage within the vampire world. I also wanted him to be mine in my world.

I smiled at this thought. Would Eric agree to marry me? And should I be the one asking him? It was my world after all, with human laws and I was a modern woman. It may not be February 29, but the thought of asking him to marry me was incredible. I would need to consult with someone though, probably Pam, though I know she would tease Eric no end if I took the reigns on this. And I'm sure she'd relish a wedding.

I suddenly realised I was happy. I knew that I would not forget the torment that Lochlan and Neave inflicted on me, and I wondered if I should contact some kind of counsellor to stave off the inevitable PTSD and nightmares. Maybe Dr Ludwig would know someone that understood the supernatural world which I was now firmly part of. I finally felt like I could face the day ahead, rather than moping around the house in my pyjamas.

I had a lengthy shower, dried my hair and applied a little make-up. I slipped into some comfy jeans and t-shirt and attended to some housework that I had seriously neglected. Realising I had no food in the house, I slipped my shoes on, grabbed my car keys and flew out the door. It was when I was sat in my car that I realised this was the first time I'd been outside since my ordeal. I sat for a few moments and then drove out of my drive down Hummingbird Lane.

Since it was nearly lunchtime, I decided I'd pop to Merlottes and see Sam. I considered asking for some shifts, but decided I'd maybe like to leave it a bit for now, and if Sam didn't push me I wouldn't mention it.

I parked up in the customer car park, and psyched myself for what lay ahead, making sure my walls were as strong as possible to block the inquisitive thoughts of the locals. I knew I would not be so lucky regarding any comments they would make, but then I was used to their thoughts, which even in this small town were much more small-minded than the words they uttered.

I walked in and straight to the bar. Sam looked shocked to see me, but came around the bar to give me a big hug that definitely lasted too long and was verging on being uncomfortable. He kissed me on the top of my head as I pulled away, and I took a deliberate step back from him. I could not handle Sam being over-familiar right now.

Sam had noticed that I stepped back from him. "How are you, cher? You look great, are you here about you job, 'cause you know I've kept it open for you, Sook." He was staring deep into my eyes, and I couldn't help but feel a little perturbed. His hand was back on my shoulder, having retaken the step towards me. I instantly had thoughts of Eric's reaction if he were here.

"No … I'm just not quite sure that I'm ready just yet, Sam. I..." I stepped back again.

"Sook," he cut me off with, "you look back to normal, so much better than the last time I saw you. Now I know you need the money, so how about I schedule you in for tomorrow lunchtime and then we go from there?" He winked at me as he said this.

"Look, Sam, I appreciate what you did for me, and I probably am much better now, I still have nightmares, but my injuries are much better."

"Eric, I presume?" He almost spat those words at me.

"He's not been able to give me any more blood, but he has helped me. Not that its any of your business Sam Merlotte!" I was angry now and planned on leaving. I would buy lunch elsewhere. I turned to leave, but Sam grabbed my hand and pulled me towards his office and shut the door behind us.

"Sookie, are you not done with all this vampire shit? You've been kidnapped and tortured and god knows what else as a result of those dead-meat leaches, and I will not see you get hurt further. I love you Sookie, we could be good together. You won't have to put up with any of their politics if you were with me. I'd marry you, take you to a small town somewhere, raise our perfect children..."

I was furious. "Okay Sam, stop right now," I yelled at him pushing him away from me. "Firstly, it was the fairies that took me, not the vampires – they were the ones that rescued me, and secondly I have never given you any hope that we would be together. I'm with Eric, I love him. And you know perfectly well that I could never just disappear to some quaint town for a life with you. I may not have wanted to fall head first into supernatural politics, but its part of me now."

I paused for breath looking at Sam's defeated face. "I'm sorry Sam, but I don't think I can work here any more. I quit." I turned and left his office, yet Sam followed me and shouted at me when I was halfway to the door.

"Go ahead Sook, go and live off your sugar-daddy's millions like a good little fangbanger!"

I stopped dead in my tracks, turned and looked at Sam dead in the face. "Fuck you shifter!" Eric would be proud of me.

When I reached my car I took a few moments to compose myself and then drove to the store to grab some food and other essentials. After I got home I grabbed a quick lunch and continued with my housework, trying not to think about my argument with Sam. I couldn't believe that I had just quit my job. What was I supposed to do now? The quip Sam made about living off Eric's money had hurt me and was close to the bone. I'd never liked accepting Eric's gifts, but the ones he'd got me so far were useful and thoughtful. I still loved my cranberry coat dearly, and I'd never have been able to have got my driveway fixed. But I did not want to accept hand-outs from him. And how rich was Eric? Though I guess after 1000 years on the planet its likely you would accumulate some wealth.

After thoroughly cleaning the fridge, I looked to the window and saw that darkness had just arrived. I decided now was the time to go and see Bill. I hopped in my car and drove across to Bill's house. It was strange being back here, remembering the times we spent with each other, and the pain he caused me. I guess it was even now.

I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Surely he must be here. I knocked further then tried the doorknob, it was open. I shouted for Bill, listening hard for any answer. When I heard a noise from upstairs, I quickly ran up the stairs and found Bill half crawling out of the hole under the floorboards that I knew to be his own hidey-hole.

He saw me and shouted will all the muster he could, "Sookie, stay back!" I stopped dead in my tracks and backed away from him. I could tell that he was hungry, and I'd just run into the house with a hungry injured vampire. I evidently did have a death wish.

"What can I do, Bill?" I couldn't help but think of Eric, was I risking my life by spending time with Bill? I was fairly sure he would not hurt me, but I can't say I was convinced. "Can I get you some True Blood?"

"There's some in the kitchen, I need around three."

I quickly ran back downstairs and heated the bloods in the microwave and brought them back to Bill. He had put some clothes on and was sat down on the bed. I entered the room slowly and saw Bill nod to me. I handed the bloods to him and went to stand back in the doorway of the room. After he'd downed all three, he looked back at me. He was very pale – even for a vampire – and looked to be still in pain. I felt a waive of guilt role over me. I was to blame for this. As if he knew my feelings, he patted the bed and beckoned for me to join him.

I sat, perched on the corner of the bed I'd spent so much time in. "This isn't your fault, Sookie. I only wish we could have got to you sooner. I'm sorry for that. I'm glad the fairies are gone now, they were nothing but trouble. No offence of course." He smiled at me, and his attempt at a joke lightened the mood. "And how is Eric?"

"What do you mean, why are you asking about him?" I was confused why Bill would ask that.

"I know you, Sookie, I know that you have a tendencies to run from those that love you. He did everything he could to rescue you. I imagine you gave him a hard time for not being there?" He knew me far to well.

"We discussed what happened, he told me about de Castro keeping him in the meeting with him, and I guess I realised that I felt his support when I was being held. I'm not sure that I would have survived the torture if it wasn't for him. He absorbed a lot of the pain. I owe him, I owe you all." Tears had started to fall from my eyes again.

There was a question I needed to ask Bill. "Bill, I need you to tell me something. When Niall left this world he came and saw me. He told me that the vampire loved me. Only he did not specify which one. I need to know. Did my great-grandfather mean you?"

He looked at me, "Sookie, I do love you. I have always loved you. I know that I have made mistakes with us and not being completely honest was the biggest. I do love you, but I don't think I'm the vampire that Niall was referring to."

I couldn't believe that he told me that. Since when did Bill ever defer to Eric on this kind of thing. Was Bill really saying I should be with Eric? That the Viking loves me more? In some ways I knew it to be true, but I did not expect Bill to be telling me this.

"Why are you saying that? You and Eric hate each other?" I felt like stamping my feet, I just couldn't understand these vampires at times.

"You share a blood bond already with him, and are married to him under vampire law. He may be a manipulative bastard, but he has proved himself to care for you and he loves you. I would trust him to look after you, to protect you. I could not protect you in that way, not now or ever."

"I'm scared though Bill, he told me that he would meet the sun if anything happened to me. When it happens to me!"

"And you're asking me which vampire Niall meant? Sookie, vampires a incredibly jealous of their lives, and one as old as Eric? You really think a thousand year old vampire would tell you he'd commit suicide were anything to happen to you, and not love you for all that he was worth?"

I though about it, of course Eric wouldn't. "But Bill, my life is so temporary compared to his. Even if I fed from him regularly I would not live forever, and then he'd end it all because he didn't have me any more. How am I meant to deal with the guilt of that? I do love him Bill, but I can't be responsible for his death."

He looked thoughtful at me while tears were falling freely from my eyes and I was sobbing loudly. When I regained my composure he moved closer to me and took my hand in his.

"Would you not consider becoming vampire for him?" He almost whispered this, knowing my views on the matter.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I could. I know its easier with the synthetic blood and all, but I couldn't handle all that death. I will not become vampire. I just need to make Eric see that he does not have to end it all once I die. Maybe you could help me convince him, and Pam!" Of course, Pam. She would not want her master to meet the sun and would surely do anything to stop him. I would have to conspire with her to come up with a plan to save Eric. And I needed her opinion on whether I should ask Eric to marry me. Maybe the two plans could somehow be combined.

"I don't know Sookie, I'm not entirely sure he would listed to me on this, though Pam maybe." He twiddled his thumbs in his hand, and then made an effort to change the topic of conversation. "You look much better Sookie, are you healed?"

"Pretty much," I smiled, "Eric has been rubbing his blood into my wounds as I've not been able to drink from him – I had a lot when we were in the hospital. Its odd though, it still took him days to come to me after he brought me home. I needed him with me. He never did say what took him so long then."

I felt myself slipping back into a depression, why didn't he come sooner? Bill placed a hand on my face and I looked into his sallow, sunken eyes. "He didn't tell you, did he?"

"Tell me what?" Tears were falling from my eyes again.

"Pam called me last night to check on my progress. She mentioned that when Eric and her arrived back at Fangtasia after bringing you home, de Castro was waiting for them with more than ten of his vampires. They took Eric away, chained in silver and de Castro tortured him for three nights. Pam found him on the fourth night in a silver lined coffin at the centre of Fangtasia. She said he looked awful, well, as bad as Eric can, and he had to drink a lot of blood to recuperate. He always keeps donor blood from the hospital in case such things happen. He was not able to come and see you until the night after that."

I felt horrible that I had thought Eric had abandoned me again. And I also knew I had a stake with de Castro's name on it – move over Buffy – Sookie is here!

"Shit, I didn't know. He didn't tell me any of that. I suppose I should be lucky he didn't kill him."

"Unfortunately I think de Castro still has designs on that, but I fear you are also likely to be involved. De Castro covets you, and wants to take you from Eric. But you need to discuss this with him."

I heard a noise downstairs, with footsteps coming up the stairs. I looked at Bill in panic but his face was impassive.

"Sookie, True Blood is helpful, but I need human blood to recover fully. Eric has organised some willing donors for me, they've been coming every night since I got back. I imagine you don't want to see this, so suggest that visiting hours are now officially over." He kissed my hand in a very gentlemanly-like manor, and I almost missed those Southern charms of his.

As his 'meal' entered the room I quickly made my exit, smiling briefly at the brunette who was to be lunch, but making sure that my mental barriers were firmly in place. I did not want to know what she was thinking.

I made my way back home and started to process the details that Bill had provided me. Eric loved me, and he was the vampire Niall was referring to. And if Bill said this it must be true. Secondly Eric hadn't abandoned me after bringing me home from the fairy war, rather he'd been held captive by the sadistic vampire King. I wanted nothing more than to kick de Castro's ass for hurting my vampire in that way.

And he was my vampire, I knew that now.

I hatched a plan, I knew I needed to speak to Pam, but I also needed to see Eric. I needed to feel Eric, and I wanted to renew our blood bond. I quickly dialled the number of Fangtasia – which I now knew off by heart – and was greeted by Pam's dulcet tones.

"Hey Pam, its Sookie!"

"Sookie, good to hear from you, I hope you are healed?"

"Yes, I am now … listen, is Eric to be there tonight?"

"Yes, my Master is on duty to enthral the vermin tonight, he's been getting away with it too easy recently."

"Good, I was planning to stop by and see him..."

"Wear something spectacular with easy access. He's been in an awful mood of a late, and I think a visit from our favourite troublesome telepathic barmaid would lighten his stiff mood."

I understood the double entendre in Pam's words. And I had just the dress in mind.

"Yeah, about that, I quit my job today. I'm now officially unemployed."

"That's great news, its about time that you stopped working there, your much too good for that place. The Master will be pleased." I could almost hear her smirking down the phone at me. "What happened?"

"He tried to get too cosy for my liking, and called me a money-grabbing fangbanger. I don't want Eric's money! And then I shouted at him, in the centre of Merlottes and said, quote, 'fuck you shifter'"

"Oh Sookie, I'm so proud of you – Eric will be thrilled."

"Okay, well I'll see you in around hour or so. Bye" She hung up without responding.

I quickly went to my room, had another quick shower to remove the smell of Sam and Bill, twisted my hair up and pinned it so that my neck was exposed, and took out my red and white dress. The same one I was wearing when I first met Eric, when I first entered Fangtasia. I hadn't realised quite how badly I'd stick out when I first went with Bill, but I now know I made an impression.

I checked myself in the mirror after applying a little make-up and drove to Shreveport in record time – for me anyway.

When I got to Fangtasia it was as busy as normal, and I saw Pam at the door eyeing me appreciatively. "You look delicious Sookie, positively mouth-watering." Her fangs ran out when she said this.

"Um, thanks Pam. I think. Look, I need to speak to you at some-point about something important, but I don't want Eric to know."

She grinned a toothy smile at me. "I'm yours for whatever you want, you only need to ask, and I promise _I_ will not tell Eric."

"Mind out of the gutter, Pam!" I moved to walk past her into Fangtasia. "Its important and about Eric, so can we meet sometime?"

"Sure, now go and fuck my Master before he kills anyone!" She patted me on the ass as I walked past and I felt my lust growing as I walked into the bar. I hoped that Eric could feel it as well.

He was sat in his usual position, but rather than looking bored his eyes fell straight to mine with a predatory glance, and I was almost knocked over by the lust when he saw what I was wearing. I walked slowly towards him, and he rose to his full 6'5" and closed the distance between us in two strides.

His hands fell straight to my waist and he picked me up so that I was at the same level as his face. I wrapped my legs and arms around him and pulled myself as close as I could get to him.

"My lover, what do I owe this pleasure?" He smirked at me, raising an eyebrow and then lowering his lips gently onto mine.

"What can I say, I've missed you." And with that we were in Eric's office before I knew it.


	5. Chapter 5

_Lemon alert..._

* * *

**Eric**

I awoke the next morning around an hour before sunrise, downed a couple of bottles of True Blood and took to my computer to attend to some emails. My thoughts, however, drifted straight to Sookie. She had been in such a state the night before, and I wanted to see her more than anything. If I thought I could have gotten away with it I'd have brought her back with me to Shreveport, but I knew perfectly well she would have considered me high-handed, something she seems to accuse me of being quite often. Maybe I am, but she needs to realise that it is for her own good. She is the only thing that matters to me now, everything else pales in significance to her.

I was regretting agreeing to Pam that I would enthral the vermin tonight, otherwise I could have gone straight to see Sookie. I considered calling her, but decided I would just sit it out in Fangtasia for a few hours and then head to see Sookie at my usual time.

After the sun had set I showered, changed into my Fangtasia attire and headed out making sure the house was securely shut up. I hopped into my corvette and drove slowly down the drive, enjoying the crunch of the tires on the gravel. I had other cars, many other cars in fact, yet this one was my favourite as it reminded me of Sookie. Leaning over her at the orgy we attended together was a particular favourite memory of mine that involved both her and this car. Of course her being nearly shot in it by a fucking Were was not so great, but it was a memory of Sookie nonetheless. Maybe I would allow myself to indulge in the silver Koenigsegg I'd just taken delivery of. At 4am in the morning there are very few police around, and certainly none that could catch up with the 250 mph top speed. The thought made my fangs slip out a little.

I quickly arrived at Fangtasia and parked in my usual spot. I strode to the employee entrance and headed into my office, popping a head into Pam's as I walked past. I collapsed lazily into my leather chair and leaned back, heaving my boot clad feet heavily onto the desk and picked up a pile of papers I needed to deal with. After an hour or so Pam came in with a blood in her hand.

"The vermin are getting impatient and I fear Thalia will kill one of them soon if you do not go and entertain them." She raised an eyebrow at me in a learned expression, and stood staring at me until I placed the papers back on the table and unfolded my body from the comfortable position I had assumed.

I growled at her as I walked past, but she simply smiled sweetly at me, "come on, this is your bar and you therefore have to be the big scary vampire to keep the punters happy." She was annoying me, and I seriously wished that I could ditch this place. Fangtasia didn't have the same appeal to me as it did in the time before Sookie. I didn't want the eyes of hungry fangbangers on me, I was Sookie's and I didn't want her to share me with anyone.

I took up position on my thrown within Fangtasia and the usual feelings of boredom consumed me. I looked at the dross of the regulars within my bar, and thought more about selling my half of the business to Pam. I didn't need the money, but I wanted something that Sookie would be more comfortable with, a restaurant or wine bar perhaps. Though a vampire wine bar would be almost laughable I knew that it would suit Sookie.

As I sat there considering my options on future business, the bond that is always present in my long-still heart started buzzing. I was confused momentarily, but knew that this meant that Sookie was getting closer. My bonded was heading towards Fangtasia to meet me. I was getting excited to see her, and I could feel my erection starting to strain on the zipper of my jeans. I knew she was close, and I could hear her hushed tones, probably talking to Pam at the door though I could not make out what was being said.

And then she walked in. I could feel her lust growing as she walked in the general direction of my chair. I saw her golden hair shining amongst the black of the goths and fangbangers that attended my bar. Then the crowd seemed to part between us and I saw her in her glory. She was wearing the red and white dress, the same one she had worn on her first visit to Fangtasia. I was instantly filled with lust and stood to greet her. I quickly closed the space between us and lifted her into my arms, she wrapped her legs tightly around me. When she told me that she missed me, I could have died then and gone happily to Valhalla. Instead I sped us to my office and shut the door behind us.

Her head was buried into my chest and I breathed in her sweet scent relishing the warmth of her body. I sat us down on the sofa, her legs still tightly wrapped around me, and I pulled back so I could stare into her eyes.

"You missed me then?" I could feel the love flowing from her, and it could have brought me to life. I hitched my eyebrow up at her and smiled into her eyes. "I want you here with me, I wanted to wake up with you this morning, I wanted you in my shower, though I have to say I am rather fond of your shower!" I smirked as I said this.

"As am I, I think of you and your gracious plenty every time I'm in there." With that I kissed her as she moaned into my mouth. My hands were everywhere trying to re-familiarise with her smooth, warm body and she ground her hips into my hardening erection. I would happily have taken her then and there, but I did not want this to happen in my office at Fangtasia with twenty plus vampires hearing our make-out session.

Instead I pulled away from mouth and felt a pang of disappointment and hurt through the bond. I cupped her cheeks in my hands and chastely kissed her on the lips, stroking her cheeks with my thumbs. "Sookie, there is nothing I want more than to fuck you right now, but I would rather have you in my bed than in my dirty office with a room full of vampires next door. And I don't think you'd like it if they heard you."

"I guess, though in the moment there I don't think it would have bothered me where we were." She winked at me as she said this. I was so in love with this minx.

"I'll have to remember that!" She moved to make an effort to climb off my lap, but I held tight onto her in my arms, not wanting to lose the close contact I had. Though it would have been better without the clothes being in the way. "Where do you think you're going?" I smirked, she pouted slightly and I stood up. She wrapped her legs around me again and I stood up and sat her on my desk. "I do have a fantasy about taking you in that dress on my desk, maybe one day you could help me with that?"

"Well, you'll have to be a good vampire for me to do that now aren't you?" I liked the way she was thinking.

The way she was talking to me was so hot I was close to losing it just at her words. Instead I sped out of Fangtasia to my corvette with Sookie still in my arms. Pam was just going to have to manage without me, and she'd probably better get used to it. This beautiful blonde was certainly going to be bad for business. I placed her securely in the passenger seat and leaned across her to do up her seatbelt, making sure that my hand brushed her breast in the process. I felt her nipples harden under my touch.

I quickly reversed out of my space and hurtled out of the Fangtasia parking lot and headed towards my Shreveport house. I had numerous houses over the area, but this one was my favourite and the one I spent most of my time in. We drove in silence, though stole glances at each other when we thought the other was not looking. I felt like a teenager on his first date. After leaving the bright lights of the city we drove down a tree-lined lane and then as the trees parted we came to the large iron gate hung between two large granite pillars that formed the entrance to my home. I nodded to the vampire guards as I drove past and made my way along the gentle hill up long gravel drive towards my home.

Rather than parking in the underground garage I pulled up in front of the steps to my home and swiftly moved to Sookie's door to open it for her. She sat still in her seat, looking up in awe at my house. I held my hand out to her and she took it gingerly, her mouth slightly open as she beheld the large white mansion before her.

"Eric, this place is huge, do you really need somewhere so big?"

"Probably not," I smiled, "but this place is me, and I hope that you will be as happy here as I am. I want you to be comfortable here. I want this to be your home as well." She looked stunned. I led her up the marble steps. "You have to remember that I am Sheriff of this area, and my home must reflect my status. It is, say, slightly larger than your average sheriff would possess, but then I'm not your average vampire sheriff, am I?" I winked at her and scooped her into my arms as we crossed the threshold into my home.

"Wow, this place is palatial."

"It is, and I would love to spend the time showing you around, but I can assure you that right now I have much better things on my mind!" I waggled my eyebrows at her and sped towards the hidden doorway that led down to my underground lair. As I typed the code into the keypad I felt Sookie's lips on my neck, nibbling slightly, and I almost lost my concentration. The door opened and I flew down the stairs into the pitch dark room and dropped her onto the silk-sheet covered bed. I quickly shed my clothes and then lit a few candles that were around the room, providing a gentle, flickering light.

She laughed as she saw I had lost my clothes, and I crept predatorily up the bed towards her, pulling her to me and into a deep kiss. She was intoxicating, and I was getting my much needed fix of her. I was addicted to my fairy and I wanted more. I needed her. I started to kiss down her neck, running my fangs along her skin and licking the sensitive spot behind her ear causing her to tremble underneath me. She had her hands in my hair and pulled my head back to kiss her, moaning into my mouth and I ran my hands over her body to her breasts, rubbing her nipples harshly through the fabric of her dress causing them to harden further.

I started to kiss back down her neck, nibbling her shoulder and placing a long lick along her clavicle. Much as I loved her in this dress, I preferred her out of it. I pulled her up into seating position and unzipped her dress, still kissing her, and then throwing the dress across the room once I had her out of it. I pulled back as she leaned back on the bed on her elbows, her eyes clouded over with lust, boring into my own. She was only wearing a red thong, which I destroyed with my two little fingers either side of her hips.

I pushed her back against the bed and resumed slowly kissing down her body as she moaned and bucked in response to my licks, kisses, bites and nibbles. I hadn't drawn blood, but I was dying to taste her fairy essence. As I got closer to her sex, she opened her legs wider and thrusted her hips towards my face. I smiled into her thighs and ran my tongue along her, savouring her essence. I moved my attentions to her nub, and sucked and teased as she bucked against my face. I moved a hand to her hips to hold her still, and she cried out in frustration.

When I could tell that she was close I placed two finger into her opening and pumped my long fingers in and out in time with my tongue. She was groaning louder and louder and then came hard, her juices running onto my tongue which I greedily lapped up. She was breathing heavily and her head was thrown back onto the bed, her chest heaving. I grinned at her from between her legs waiting for her to come back down to earth.

"Fuck, Eric, that was incredible!" She was still panting, but the look on her eyes told me that she wanted more, that she wanted me and my gracious plenty.

I slowly climbed back up her body, placing chaste kisses over her body, deliberately tormenting Sookie, knowing what she wanted. "I haven't even started yet, my love, by the morning you won't be able to walk straight by the time I've finished with you!" I winked at her before leaning down into a soft kiss, stroking her face with my thumb.

It was Sookie that deepened this kiss, one hand pulling in my hair the digging her nails into my back. She instinctively wrapped her legs around me and pulled me closer to her. I couldn't hold off any longer, and as her breathing increased I positioned myself at her entrance and slowly slipped in. I knew that she was likely to still be tender and sore following her ordeal with the fairies, but also that we had not been together for a few weeks and she would need to stretch around my size. I didn't want to cause her too much pain.

She moaned and whimpered as I entered her, our eyes locked on each others the whole time, and once I was fully encased in her, enjoying the warmth of her body all around me, I gave her the time she needed to adjust to me. After just a few seconds she pushed her hips further onto me, and I took this as all the indication I needed that Sookie was ready for more. I pulled all the way out and as she started to protest at the loss, I moved back inside and started to increase my pace. She met me all the way and after a while was beginning to pant and tremble as her orgasm reached her. I was close myself after abstaining from sex for a few weeks, and I bit into her shoulder and came hard shortly after her.

Her head had been thrown back in ecstasy as she reached her climax, but as she recovered her composure she completely surprised me by biting my shoulder and sucking the blood greedily from the wound as I was feeding from her. It was one of the most erotic feelings I'd ever had, and led to an incredibly prolonged orgasm.

When we both were done and still shaking from the aftershocks of our orgasms I rolled off her. If I had to breath, I too would have been panting like I'd run a marathon. That was incredible and I wanted more, though I knew I would have to allow Sookie some time.

"Wow!" was all she said, and I looked over to her and saw the smile in her eyes as she gazed into mine.

"I'm glad you approve – I just hope you have the energy to last all night!" I winked at her again and pulled her to me for a passionate kiss.

"Bring it on vampire!" She was asking for trouble. I leapt on top of her and pinned her down onto the bed, my hair falling around my face. She gently and tenderly pushed my hair back with both hands and held my face between both hands. "I love you, Eric Northman, more than I ever thought possible. But I need you to promise me something. You said last night that you would meet the sun were anything to happen to me. You must promise me this will not be the case. You have to understand that I could not live my life now if I knew as soon as I died you'd end up killing yourself. I love you too much for that." She paused but I could tell she was not finished so remained silent. Her breathing was faltering as her tears threatened, and I let her regain her composure. "Eric, I would rather us not be together than know that your long life would end."

I couldn't believe she was saying that, but understood the sentiment behind. We were in a catch-22 situation – we both loved each other so much that we could not be without each other, but the death of one could cause the death of the other, and this is something neither of us could handle.

I was still pinning her down into the bed, so I sat up and pulled her into my arms, cradling her as you would a child. I wanted to just lie to her, tell her that I wouldn't end it all after she died, but I could not do that. I had never told Sookie anything but the truth and I wasn't about to start now, no matter how painful.

"Sookie, I can't and won't lie to you. There is a very good chance that if you were to pass I would meet the sun, we are too closely tied and my love for you is too strong. But all I can promise is that I won't plan anything any more. That I won't _expect_ to end my existence once yours ends. That is all I can promise." My words were barely a whisper, and I hoped with all I was worth that these words were good enough for her. I could not stand to be apart from my beloved bonded.

"Thank you, Eric, I understand what you are saying, and know that this is all I can ask of you."

The relief that rushed through me must have been evident on my face as she pulled me to her for a passion kiss. It was a kiss of love, need and passion, and what both of us needed to heal our souls. After a few minutes she turned and looked at me, mischief on her face.

"So what's your bathroom like then? Would you care to join me for a shower or bath?" It was her turn to wink at me.

"Sounds like a good idea, though I have to say I'm rather partial to a shower when I get up, so that will have to wait for tomorrow night. Shall we set a shower date for first dark tomorrow?"

"Sounds like a plan!"

"But now, I intend to take you into my hot tub and give you a relaxing a Swedish massage!" I got up with her still in my arms and led her to the hot tub, gently placing her into the warm water. I got in behind her and rubbed her neck and shoulders intermittent with kisses and grazes of my fangs on her warm body. She was moaning from my actions and my dick was becoming painfully hard, which hadn't gone unnoticed.

With her back still to me she shuffled back in the tub and positioned her entrance over the tip of my penis and slowly lowered herself into my lap. It was heavenly and we gently rocked ourselves into orgasm, my fingers rubbing her clit for maximum arousal and my fangs grazing her neck. It was sensual and perfect, and the sensation of the bubbles and water streams around seemed to increase this. I allowed myself another sip of her blood as I came, but mindful that I didn't want to take too much.

She laid in my arms for a while longer, neither one of us saying anything but pushing our feelings through the bond, experimenting with the limits of the bond we shared. When I noticed that Sookie's fingers were severely wrinkled from the exposure to the water I turned her to face me and thought at her with utmost concentration, "_I love you, Sookie Stackhouse_." The look on her face told me that she had heard me.

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Thank you all for your comments and reviews, they keep me inspired


	6. Chapter 6

**Sookie**

Shit. Did I just hear him in my head? I was astounded, and from the look on Eric's face I could tell that it was intentional. I didn't know what to say, should I tell him that I'd unintentionally heard him (and Stan) before?

It was Eric who was first to speak as her pulled me out of the tub and wrapped in a huge fluffy red towel. "Have you heard me before?" he said with a knowing smile.

"Yes... a few times, though not on purpose, I wasn't trying to hear you, or Stan, it just kind of happened." I was panicked, and couldn't look Eric in the eye.

He placed his hands around my face and positioned my head with a closeness to his so that I could not do anything but look into his eyes. He was smiling at least.

"It's okay Sookie, you don't have to worry about it. Your secret is safe with me. It's interesting that you heard Stan as well."

"How did you know that you'd be able to do that, I can't hear you now."

"I have a theory that as our bond becomes stronger we may be able to hear each others thoughts. You might find that you can project to me as well, but I think that is for another to experiment with. Right now I have other plans for you."

He smirked at me as he carried me into the bedroom and deposited me on the silk sheets that I now noticed were a very dark red in colour. The bed was huge, easily 8 foot square. I had no idea where you would get sheets for a bed like this, but I imagined they must be custom made. He had put on a few more lights in the room and blew the candles out. The room itself was huge with a deep red carpet, cream walls and large black leather sofa in one corner. There were also a few doors, one of which must lead to a closet as there were no wardrobes in the room. I guessed he may also have an office down here.

I laid back with my head on one of the comfy pillows and looked up at my vampire. He was stood at the end of the bed and very much aroused. I rolled my eyes at him, "You can't be ready again so soon?" I smirked at him and pretended to cover myself up, attempting to hide under the covers. However within seconds the sheet was on the other side of the room and Eric was leaning over me, his mouth hovering millimetres from my throat.

"Oh I assure you I am ready, lover, and I warned you earlier that you will not be able to walk straight tomorrow morning. That was most certainly a promise. And anyway, you're not going anywhere now, I have you in my home and there is no way that I am letting you leave me." An unwelcome feeling of fear crept over me, was he planning on holding me prisoner here? He moved from my neck and looked me in the eyes, his eyes burning. "Sookie, my love, I would not keep you here against your will, you know I respect you more than that." He seemed hurt by my doubt of him.

"I know Eric, I'm sorry. I just had a sudden fear of being kept here against my will. It was a stray thought and I'm sorry. The simple fact is I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be." He was smiling again and I could feel the love and relief flood from him through out bond.

"As you car is still at Fangtasia I'll happily let you drive one of my others when you want to return to work, but I would ask that you are with me when I wake up tomorrow. There is nothing I have wanted more than to have you next to me as I awake."

I hadn't told him about my altercation with Sam, but I respected the fact that he was still open to me working. "Yeah, about that … I quit my job." The look on Eric's face was priceless. I always thought he had an answer for everything, but that one had certainly had him stumped. I told him about my argument with Sam, and him being over-friendly with me. He let out a guttural laugh when I told him that as I exited Merlottes I told Sam to 'fuck off, Shifter.' As Pam said, he was proud of me.

"The problem is," I continued, "I now don't know what I'm going to do for money. I'm never going to be able to get another job in Bon Temps. And before you say anything Eric, I don't want your hand outs. I'm a grown woman and I can support myself." I know Eric would not have thought twice about supporting me, and the fact was as man (or vampire) and wife he was perfectly within his rights to support me, as I would him if our roles were reversed.

He rolled me on top of him and I just laid on his muscular chest, enjoying the closeness of our contact. After a while he kissed my forehead and put a proposal to me. "Sookie, how do you fancy working with me? And I mean as a business partner, not employee. And if you wanted, I could be the silent partner." He looked at me to gage my reaction. This was all unexpected, but my initial response was that it would be great. I had many questions.

"What kind of business venture are we talking about? And what about Fangtasia?" I started kissing up his neck and we spent a few minutes being distracted my each other before he answered.

"I've been thinking about selling my share of Fangtasia to Pam for a while. I don't have the same enjoyment of it that I used to. And I blame you for that, by the way." He winked at me and pulled me into a deep kiss. When I came up for air he continued, "I was thinking somewhere on the classier side, maybe a restaurant or wine bar. Maybe somewhere that caters for human and supe alike, but not the tourists and fangbangers – I grow tired of that. What do you think?"

Wow, that was incredible. And if we were business partners then I would be able to see much more of him. The place would obviously be based in Shreveport so I would be able to live with him, wake up with him every day. I felt a pang of guilt for my home in Bon Temps, but I realised that I did not seem to have much tying me to the small town anymore. Even Jason had his own family now with the were-panthers, and I just didn't fit into that town any more. My emotions were spinning out of control as I debated the pros and cons of leaving Bon Temps to live full time with my vampire. This was a huge step. Eric must have felt my anxiety as I was soon soothed by a wave of calm coming from him coupled with the gentle strokes over my body that his hands and tongue were both involved in.

"You don't need to decide anything now, my love, we have plenty of time to talk about any future business plans. Right now, I believe your body and I have a date to make ourselves reacquainted."

We spent the rest of the night doing just that, and it was without doubt one of the best nights I had ever had.

* * * * * *

I awoke around one in the afternoon the next day and looked over to the beautiful sleeping man lying next to me. Okay, technically he was dead, but I considered him to be sleeping, I had managed to rouse him from his sleep in Rhodes after all. I'd happily have laid all afternoon next to him, just staring at his manly features, however my human needs meant I had to leave the comfortable bed and quickly find a bathroom. I also realised that I was absolutely starving.

I flicked the light on in the bedroom knowing that it would take a lot more than than to wake my sleeping vampire. I found a note on the table by the bed and marvelled at Eric's beautiful handwriting. It seemed so out of place in modern times, much like him I guessed.

_Sookie,_

_I want to thank you for the time we shared last night. You sleeping in my bed is something I have been relishing since we first met, and I know that this will be the first of many nights we share together. I have wanted nothing more than to have you by my side and show you the love and respect you deserve._

_I know you must be hungry and that you also wish to explore the rest of my house. There are plenty of clothes for you in the closet. You are welcome to go wherever you please, and you will find the kitchen at the back of the house. The fridge and cupboards are fully stocked, so help yourself to anything you like. We will talk later about employing a cook and maid for you. And I won't be listening to any arguments on that issue._

_All I ask is that you come back to my room at an hour before sunrise and to be wearing as little as possible. _

_I love you, Sookie._

_Yours,_

_E._

He'd left me the code to get back into room and I ventured off to find the closet. So he had clothes for me – was he expecting me to come and live with him? And the food in the kitchen, was this being replaced? I struggled to comprehend quite what my vampire was doing for me here. He didn't know that I was to be coming home with him last night, how could he have everything planned?

I opened the first of the doors which I found to be Eric's office. The room was painted in a pale colour yet the woods were dark and warm with a dark red leather chair and sofa. His laptop was in position at the centre of the desk, and along the wall to the left of the room was a wall of small screens evidently showing live footage of various security cameras around the property and those at Fangtasia and what appeared to be a few other properties. I could see that the vampire guards I'd seen last night had been replaced by Were guards for the day, and I wondered why a powerful vampire like Eric even needed guards, but then I imagine that to get to his age you have to be careful.

I exited his office and went to the next door, which was the closet. I say closet, but this room seemed to be bigger than my old house, and was lined with clothes. There were many beautiful suits and shirts, along with Eric's customary jeans and t-shirts. I had no idea why he needed quite this many though. There would easily be one for every day of the year. Did he wash his clothes or just buy new ones.

I could not see anything for me, but noticed that there was a section of the walk-in closet that was hidden behind a black veil. I pulled at the veil and it came down in my hands revealing a whole section of the room with clothes for me, all in the correct size. There was everything I could need – casual clothes such as jeans and t-shirts, along with sun dresses and smarter attire, and then some truly beautiful evening gowns and party dresses. There were also drawers full of underwear, and row upon row of shoes. I was astounded – when had Eric got all this?

I pulled out a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt, but was amazed when I saw that the jeans were DKNY. I had a bad feeling that all of the clothes in the wardrobe were designer, and therefore very expensive. Pam was obviously behind this, and I would make her pay.

I left the closet with the clothes and headed back towards the bathroom. The shower looked incredible, with three large shower heads and had many settings that I had no idea what to do with. I managed to get the shower working and enjoyed the hard stream pelting down on me. After I stepped out, I pulled out another of Eric's huge towels and dried myself and pulled on the clothes I'd selected. I smiled as I remembered our first shower together, and then positively grinned when I thought back to Eric's promise of a shower after he'd woken up.

I then kissed Eric on the lips and made my way back up the stairs that led to Eric's secret doorway, and back into the spectacular hallway. I decided to check out the upper floor first and then come back downstairs. The stairs themselves were spectacular, being the dominant feature of the light and airy hallway and split into two directions half way up. The carpet was soft and plush under my feet and I slowly went up the stairs and went to the right.

The first room was a bedroom painted in a dark red with a large, dark-wood four poster bed as its centrepiece. The furniture in the room matched the bed and I quickly peaked into the bathroom, which was of an adequate size. I was bemused slightly by the window contraptions, but realised that this room must be light-tight for any vampire guests that may stay here. I wondered if the whole house was light-tight of whether it was just a few of the bedrooms. The next room was equally adorned with a four-poster bed but was lighter in colour and more feminine. Every bedroom seemed to have its own bathroom, and I truly marvelled at the size of this house. It seemed to be a palace fit for royalty rather than a vampire sheriff of northern Louisiana.

There were six more bedrooms on this floor, with the last one I entered being the biggest. This room was decorated in soft, feminine shades of pastel, and I could tell it belonged to Pam when she stayed here. I couldn't resist looking into her dressing room and found it full to the brim of designer clothes, along with a section for her Fangtasia wear. Her bathroom was also bigger than any of the others and was fitted out in a style quite similar to Eric's.

I headed back downstairs and found a large library with books lining the walls from floor to ceiling. There was no ladder to help with the upper books, so I realised that he obviously just hovered up to them. I had no idea that Eric was such a big reader, but then I imagine over a thousand years you certainly get enough time. At least I would never need to go to public library again as there were probably more books here then in the whole of Bon Temps. In the centre of the room was a large writing desk with a dark green leather writing pad in the centre and a luxurious looking leather chair. The room seemed from another world, I imagined it fitted more with the Victorian England of Pam's youth than 21st century America.

On my tour of the downstairs I found a large games room, complete with both pool and snooker tables, every computer console for the last 30 years hooked up to a giant flat-screen TV on the wall and a line of pinball machines. He also had a jukebox full of classics, and I danced around the room to Dusty Springfield's 'Son of a Preacher Man' before investigating the other rooms further. I found another large office come boardroom which was obviously used for show when other vampires came to visit as it was evident that Eric used the office downstairs, hence the lack of surveillance equipment in this room. There was also a large gym, which I very much intended to use when I found the motivation, although I wondered why a vampire would need a gym when his muscles remained as perfectly formed as when he was human.

Before heading to where Eric had told me the kitchen was, I went into the living space. This room was incredible and looked so comfortable. There were large, soft sofas with the fireplace being the centrepiece of the room with a soft rug placed in front of the hearth. I really hoped the fire was in working order as I'd always had a bit of a fantasy about sex in front of an open fire. I would have to speak to Eric about that one.

Finally, my hunger got the better of me and I headed to the kitchen. I shouldn't really have been surprised by the size of the kitchen, but it was enormous and completely beautiful. I don't think that I could have designed a kitchen better myself. It had large south-facing windows with light coloured walls and sandstone flooring that seemed warm as I walked on it, which I hadn't been expecting, and the units were cherry-wood complemented by a light-coloured marble work-surface.

I peered into one of the cupboards and found it full of tins and jars of everything I could ever need. The kitchen was truly stocked to the brim of everything a human could ever need, with every mod con going. I found some coffee and got that going before looking into the fridge, which was also full. I grabbed some bagels, cream cheese and smoked salmon for now and made mental note of the fillet steak and salad which I would cook for myself later on in the evening. I hadn't been too pleased with Eric that he was planning on hiring a cook / maid for me, but I got the feeling I wouldn't win that argument. And I knew that I had a tendency to not eat when I was surrounded by vampires even though I needed to keep my strength up for our marathon sex sessions and the blood he took from me. I also figured that if I was working I probably would need some help to keep a house like this running, I had enough trouble managing my Gran's place in Bon Temps.

After eating I headed out into the garden. There was a large swimming pool and outdoor jacuzzi with sun loungers, which I found to be rather odd considering it was the home of a vampire. But I certainly looked forward to being able to top up my tan. The gardens themselves were beautiful. The gardens were heavily wooded with long grasses and wild flowers. It was organic and spontaneous and beautiful. There were wood chipped paths through the trees and gently glowing lights leading the way with lanterns in the trees as well. The paths led to another outdoor jacuzzi with a small stone cottage, completely hidden by the trees. From the main house and gardens you would not know this place was here.

Curiosity got the better of me and I tried the handle of the door and when finding it to be open pushed the open. Inside to the left of the door was a small family room with a fireplace and rug similar to the one in the main house, only smaller, and a comfy looking sofa. In the window was a desk with a small book case next to it. I left the room and moved the room directly opposite, which was a small room completely dominated by the large bed. It was evidently a bed to fit Eric's proportions. I too saw that the windows were light-tight, and hoped that the rest of the house was so that we could spend time together down here.

At the end of the hallway was a small bathroom to the right with only a large shower, basin and toilet in it, and also a small kitchen. I looked into the cupboards and fridge and also saw that it was fully stocked with food, along with true blood for Eric. I was astounded by this place. It was so romantic, and I never imagined a thousand year old Viking sheriff would ever dream of having a place as quaint as this. I couldn't wait to have my wicked way with him down here, along with a soothing jacuzzi bath.

I realised that it was starting to get late, so I headed back to the main house, entered the code into the hidden panel and descended down the stairs to Eric's room. He was lying in the same position as I left him – flat on his back, arms splayed to the sides and his long locks fanned across the pillow. He looked like a god.

I stripped out of the clothes I was wearing and popped into the closet for the sexy red silk nightdress I spied earlier. I laid down next to him and couldn't stop my hands from running long his flawless chest and abdomen to the perfect V that directed the eye to his gracious plenty. My hands became more adventurous as the moved further down his body and before I knew what was happening my mouth had joined the descent down as well.

He was beginning to stir as my mouth became reacquainted with his gracious plenty, and from my position between his legs I could feel that his eyes were on me, the mutual lust within the bond springing into life. I looked up into this dark blue eyes and took him further into my mouth, rubbing my tongue along his length, biting and licking along my way, my hands paying attention to his balls. I continued my actions as the moans from Eric got louder, and it was not too long until he came hard into my mouth with a loud grunt, his hands fisting into the sheets.

"Morning Eric," I smiled at him. He was still coming down from his orgasm and his eyes burned into mine with lust.

"Lover, you can wake me up like that any time you like." He was smirking at me and he pulled me up his body so that I was lying on his chest. "Did you have a good day?"

"Your house is beautiful, Eric, I love it."

"Any parts you particularly like?" He knew I must have found the cottage in the garden.

"As a matter of fact yes. Tell me, why do you have a cottage hidden in the trees at the bottom of your garden?" I was lightly biting into one of his nipples, and when I began to draw a little blood I sucked at his greedily as Eric moaned loudly.

"Sookie, you are being very distracting!" He rolled me off him and we both lay on our sides gazing into each others eyes. "I built that place when I first met you. I always thought that you would find this house rather intimidating, and I fear that you will think the same about my other houses in the area. But that place reminds me of you, along with the wild flowers that lead the way there. And as the bathroom was not big enough for a shower and bath I figured you wouldn't mind a little outdoor bathing in somewhere so secluded. You liked it, though?"

He'd really built that place for me? It was an incredibly romantic thing that he did. However he was suddenly filled with doubt which I put at ease with a gentle kiss. "I love it. I look forward to spending time down there with you, though I have to say I did also have designs on rug in front of the fire in your living room. I take it the fire works?"

"It most certainly does, and I will happily christen that rug with you, along with the other rooms upstairs. I'm sure that Pam would be thrilled if we christened her bed!" He winked at me and rolled on top of me, kissing down my body until he was between my legs.

That man could do incredible things with his tongue, and it didn't take long for him to work me into a frenzy. His fingers were pumping into me with his mouth on my nub and I came hard, yet he continued with his relentless assault on my body giving me multiple pleasures I could not imagine. I quickly had another earth-shattering orgasm and yet still he continued.

I finally found my voice, "ERIC, please!" I was breathless and writhing around on the bed. "Please." I looked down at him and he had a wicked grin on his face. "Please get inside me, I need you in me now" I was shouting at him, and felt almost angry at him that he was tormenting me in this way. He smirked at me from between my legs and crept up the bed pulling me to him. He tenderly kissed me, then before I new what was happening I was in the shower with all three shower heads beating down on me. He pushed me against the cold wall of the shower until and kissed my neck as he lifted me up and entered into me slowly. The feeling of him inside me was incredible and we quickly formed a rhythm, with me quickly building into yet another orgasm. I screamed as I reached my peak, and Eric followed shortly afterwards, biting into my neck and drawing deeply as he pressed my trembling body into the wall of the shower. I was struggling to breath with his weight against me, but it was incredibly comforting.

"Wow!" was all I could manage when he finally let me down from my position on the wall. I was glad that Eric was still holding me as my knees instantly bucked. He scooped me back up into his arms and kissed me passionately. When I regained the strength in me legs he let me back onto the floor and we cleaned each other meticulously.

After drying off we put threw some clothes on and went upstairs as the sun had now set. "Have you eaten?" He enquired of me as he led me towards the kitchen and heated a true blood in the microwave.

"I had a snack earlier, but I am rather hungry."

Eric sat at the table in the kitchen and we chatted as I cooked my steak and prepared my salad. After I'd eaten and washed up the dishes he took my hand silently and led me into the garden. We passed the pool and were heading towards the path that led to the cottage. The lights in the trees looked beautiful and as I looked up at Eric the way that the subtle light lit his features were truly breathtaking. He saw me gazing up at him and scooped me up into his arms as we approached the cottage. He opened the door, turned to his left and deposited me onto the sofa and went about making a fire in the hearth.

Still kneeling with the fire blazing he beckoned to me and I walked over to him. He looked up into my eyes and I could feel the love flowing from him.

"Sookie, my love, my world changed when you walked into Fangtasia that night, and I had no idea that I could be this happy, this in love. We are married in my world, but would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

I was stunned. And slightly annoyed that he had beaten me to it, but the love I felt for this man was intense. He had pulled out a small box from his jeans pocket and I saw a beautiful platinum and diamond solitaire ring. It was perfect and fit me just right.

"Eric, of course I will be your wife, I can think of nothing I would rather be." He pulled me down to him and we made love on the rug in front of the fire.

We planned that we would marry as soon as possible, and I was fairly certain that Pam would be thrilled to help me. I wanted something small, and if we could marry from this cottage I would be over the moon. I didn't have many people to invite – Jason, of course, and Amelia, but I wasn't entirely convinced that either of them would want to attend. And I certainly didn't have many friends left in Bon Temps following my argument with Sam. Maybe it would be just Eric, Pam and I. I was perfectly happy with that.

We were up until nearly dawn and I fell asleep in the cottage bedroom at the same time as Eric. I went to sleep a very happy girl.


	7. Chapter 7

**Eric**

When I awoke the following morning Sookie was still asleep in my arms. I breathed in her scent and felt contented for the first time in a very long time, possibly ever. I would happily have stayed with her within the confines of our home for a very long time. I needed Sookie to think of this house as hers as well and figured that the more time we spent here the more at home she would feel. Things would have to change, however. I needed to employ a chef for her and someone to help with the housework. I knew she would not like my habits of never washing clothes rather just buying new ones. She was a down to earth girl raised with Southern morals and I would have to curb some of my more extravagant habits such as that one. I had trust issues with employing staff, and I certainly wouldn't let anyone else near my sleeping quarters. However it was a circumstance where Sookie's telepathy would prove useful and she could screen any staff before they were employed. I also intended to increase the number of guards at this home, and considered building another guard station at the rear of the grounds that would be closer to this cottage in the woods that Sookie seemed to love so much. I also decided that if Amelia was to come to our wedding then I would ask her to put some wards on the house. She was a more powerful witch then even she realised, and if I paid her handsomely I was sure that she would help her friend.

I had not initially planned to ask Sookie to marry me, as the further bond would have sufficed. However I also knew that in Sookie's world we were living in sin, and she would be more appreciative of a formal human marriage even though she didn't have many friends left that hadn't betrayed her. I wanted to do this as quickly, and I had no intention of telling de Castro about either marriage or bond until after it had happened. I realised this would not go down well with the King, but I was more fearful that he would take Sookie away from me and stake me before we had chance to perform either ceremony. If we were bonded the final time it would be against vampire law for him to even touch her without my consent, and he would undoubtedly be staked by the council for the crime. I was willing to marry Sookie as soon as possible and I knew I had to find out from Niall about the bond we went down that route as I suspected that Sookie's fairy magic was likely to play an important factor.

She was starting to stir in my arms and I leaned over her and gave her a gentle kiss, running my hands along her still naked body and feeling the warmth between her legs. I intended payback for the way she woke me up the evening before. As she awoke further, our kiss deepened and my fingers entered into her moist centre, my thumb rubbing her engorged nub. She moaned into my mouth, her hands running over my body and she bucked against my hand. When I could tell that she was close I left my assault on her mouth and kissed down her jawline and neck to her throbbing artery and sunk my fangs into her neck as her walls clenched around my fingers from her orgasm.

After both of our hungers were satiated and her human needs had been dealt with she found me outside of the cottage in the large jacuzzi. She smiled and walked out of the cottage completely naked and climbed in, sitting on my lap.

"Evening, my beautiful fiancée," she smiled, gazing down appreciatively at the engagement ring on her left hand. "I see that you are keeping vampire hours now!" I smiled a toothy grin at her and pulled her into a deep kiss.

"Maybe, but its going to do nothing for my tan, and I assure you I don't intend on getting married without a tan!"

I could not be happier that she was so keen to get married to me. "We'd better get married soon then so you tan doesn't have chance to fade." I smirked at her, yet I was deadly serious. I wanted, no needed, to be her husband in her world as well mine as soon as possible.

We had our fun in the water before heading back to the main house for Sookie to make her breakfast and me to have a couple of bottles of true blood. I was hoping that she would let me drink from her again later on in the night. We went downstairs to change our clothes and I popped into my office to make a few phone calls and deal with the urgent emails. When I came back upstairs I lit the fire in the den and pulled her onto the sofa with me. There was much that we needed to discuss. It was Sookie that spoke first.

"You know, I was going to ask you to marry me. I was going to talk to Pam and work out how best to do it. You've scuppered my plans now!" She mocked angry and upset but I obviously knew that she was nothing but content.

"Its not traditional for the lady to ask the man, but I appreciate the sentiment my love."

"Do we have to tell de Castro about this?"

I let out an unnecessary sigh. "We should tell him, but I have no intention of telling him anything until after it has happened. We therefore need to keep this as quiet as possible. It also means we should marry as soon as we can. Is that alright with you?"

"I'm more than happy with him not knowing, and I want to be Mrs Northman as soon possible, as long as its not going to cause you trouble. And what about the love bond? Are we going to do that?" Her blue eyes were staring deep into mine, and I kissed her nose softly as she nuzzled into my neck.

"That I need to speak to Niall about. I suspect your fairy magic may play an unexpected role, and I need to make sure what will happen. I have a way that I can get a letter to Niall in the portal, and as this is concerning you I hope that he be willing to help us out. Once we have had his answer we will know how best to proceed and whether we need to do anything differently. In the meantime, how quickly do you think we can arrange this wedding? And how many people are we talking?"

"I'd do it tomorrow if I could, but we need to apply for a marriage licence, which I can do tomorrow as long as I can have your papers, and we can find someone vampire-friendly who will marry us. In terms of people, I'll ask Amelia if she will come, and Pam, of course. Anyone else from Fangtasia you want to invite, Bill?"

Ah, Bill. Would he even want to come? Sookie had told me that he'd been supportive of her being with me, and for that I had arranged extra blood donors, including some with fairy-laced blood to help him heal. I had spoken to him on the phone and understood that he was doing better. I know that even after everything they had been through she'd remained on good terms with him. Given half a chance I'd have staked him years ago, especially after Lorena was dead, but Sookie did not want that and would have known I was behind any 'accident' he may suffer.

"Would you like him to be there?"

"I think I would, if he wanted to come, that is. So with him, that would just make five of us if Amelia comes. I'll call her tomorrow and see if she's free. What if we provisionally set a date for Saturday evening?" That was five days from now, and if she was happy that everything could be sorted by then, I was more than willing to marry her. "Of course I'll need some time to get a wedding dress and sort out flowers and things, will you allow me an evening out with Pam so I can do that?"

"Sookie, I'd be more than happy for her to help you with this. I'll handle the reigns at Fangtasia for an evening and you girls can go shopping. In my office downstairs I have some unlimited credits cards and store cards set up for you, so go and spend yourself silly." 

She was looking at me with the determined look on her face, and I knew that she was about to argue with me at giving her money. She'd always baulked against me giving her gifts, even when they were needed (her driveway, for instance), and telling her like that I'd set up credit cards for her without even asking her was something I suddenly realised she would not like. I was about to explain my case when she placed a soft finger over my lips.

"Before you start backtracking, I'm not going to flip out. I appreciate it Eric, I really do, and for this occasion I'll happily accept your gift, but I really do want to work with you so I can feel that I contribute to this relationship as well. You're soon to be my husband in my world as well as yours, and I know that a marriage is a partnership when both parties share all that they are. I give everything that I am to you and know you do the same to me. I understand that in your case your wealth comes with it, and I need to be more accepting of that. But I can assure you I will not go spending your money for the hell of it, that's not who I am."

She took her finger off my lip and I pulled her to me for a passionate kiss and moved on top of her on the sofa. I pinned her down onto the soft cushions and breathed in her sweet scent.

"I love you, Sookie Stackhouse, and I always will. I believe you will be the perfect wife and I look forward to every day with you. Once we are married we will talk more about the business venture and I will discuss Fangtasia with Pam. She has been suggesting ideas to me recently about things we can do with the club, and I feel she'll do a great job on her own."

She started kissing down my neck and I growled as she started nipping my neck, and I silently wished she would draw some blood, which she did causing me to moan loudly into her hair and dry hump her into the sofa. As she finished she licked the wounds clean in a very vampire-esque fashion and I was literally seconds away from ripping her clothes off when I heard a noise at the door that I knew must be Pam. She soon after opened the door to the room and perched on a chair facing us, a pile of papers in her hands.

"Oh, I do hope I wasn't interrupting anything. Please don't stop on my account, I would happily watch, or join in if you wish!" She was smirking at us, and while Sookie turned a beautiful shade of pink at nearly being caught, I growled at my child and she quickly wiped the smirk off her face recognising the seriousness of my threat. She lowered her head to me, "My apologies, Master, I will make sure I knock next time."

Sookie had regained her composure and tidied up her clothes I'd been half way to ripping off her and offered Pam and I a blood which we both accepted. She scooted off to the kitchen and I turned to my child.

"You have found a way that I can contact Niall?"

"Yes, it seems that a few of the elves that have remained in our world have the ability to enter into the portal without the need for the openings, and one in particular remains loyal to Niall as an old friend, and would surely help out Sookie. But she will need to speak to her as she is distrustful of vampires. This elf is called Anja. Should I arrange a meeting for her and Sookie?"

"Yes, I will write the letter to Niall and ask Sookie to deliver it to this elf. Are you sure she can be trusted?"

"As sure as I can be, she lived within the Brigant household for many years, and chose to stay in this world to be with her human lover. She therefore may be more willing to help Sookie as she also has a supernatural lover in you. I expect that she will deliver the response from Niall within hours."

"Thank you Pam, you will be rewarded well if we can pull this off. Can you arrange for her to meet Sookie here on Wednesday? Say at around five in the afternoon. I will inform the guards and make sure that one is stationed near to Sookie to make sure nothing happens"

At this, Sookie entered back into the room with two bloods for Pam and myself and a glass of sweet-tea for herself and a sandwich. She sat down next to me and curled into my body, nuzzling her head into my neck. It almost seemed that she had forgotten Pam was there, but after breathing in my scent she pulled back and spoke to Pam.

"What are you two up to? And did Eric tell you that we're getting married on Saturday?"

"No he didn't!" Pam yelled at me, jumped up and pulled Sookie into a warm embrace. "Less than a week, that is by no means long enough to arrange a wedding for you two. We need caterers, flowers, clothes, wedding dress, bridesmaids ..."

"Pam, stop!" Sookie held her hand up to Pam and she stopped in her tracks with a confused expression on her face. "Pam, I want to keep this small and personal. We don't want all that. I just want to marry Eric and be his wife. And anyways, we can't let de Castro know about this, so it has to be quiet."

Pam looked stunned. She turned her attention back to me "You're not going to tell de Castro?" I glared at her and mentally told her to shut up. I did not need Sookie knowing quite how bad it would be that I wasn't going to tell de Castro before the event. Pam regained her composure and turned back to Sookie, who appeared to be none the wiser, or at least she didn't let on that she understood the severity of the situation. "But I'm assuming you will need a wedding dress, and that is where I can come in very useful."

"Pam, I would like nothing more than for you to help me with this. And I certainly will need help choosing a wedding dress."

I could tell that the girls wanted some time alone to discuss the wedding, so I kissed Sookie gently on the head and headed back down to my office. I needed to write my letter to Niall in order that Sookie could pass this to the elf when she met her in a few days. I was not happy about relying on someone else to deliver the message to Niall, but I had no option but to trust this woman, and Pam seemed to trust this creature. I had trained Pam well and I knew her judgement was almost as good as mine.

I also dealt with some sheriff duties that I had neglected over the last few days and emailed my weekly reports to de Castro and Madden. I had not told Sookie that if they found out about our marriage before the time that we were bonded than it was likely that he would kill us both. It was killing me keeping this information from Sookie as I had promised I would always be honest with her, but I could not have her worrying more about the situation then she needed to. I knew that I was taking a huge risk, but hoped that Niall would be able to tell me more about the bond. I had provisionally contacted Stan Davis, the Texan King who I had developed a close working relationship over the centuries, and he was willing to attend on the Sunday night following our marriage, even staying at my house the night before so the ceremony could go ahead at first dark on Sunday. Pam, of course, would also be here.

After a few hours and I had finished my work I went back upstairs to find Pam and Sookie poured over a laptop, laughing and giggling. As I walked in the laptop was quickly shut and both girls looked at me with guilty faces. Seeing my two favourite girls like this filled me with immense pleasure. I was very happy that Pam and Sookie got on as well as they did.

After Pam left, I took Sookie's hand and led her back down to the bedroom. I peeled the clothes of her and took her back into the tub. I sat facing her, our legs interlocked and our hands joined. I needed to tell Sookie about her meeting with the elf to pass on the message to Niall. I told her what Pam had said to me, and asked if she was happy to meet the elf without me being there.

"Of course I will, Eric. I'm beginning to realise how important this is to both of us. I have to admit to be initially against the bonding after what you told me." Her eyes were prickling with tears as she referred to my telling her that I would meet the sun if anything ever happened to her. "But I know how closely we are tied already, and to be perfectly honest I know now that I could not survive without you. I will meet Anja, and I promise I will do everything that I can to make sure she takes the message to Niall." I think at that point I understood how Sookie felt when I told her that I would meet the sum if anything happened to her. It was heartbreaking to hear that she too would not wish to live after me, but I understood this was a side-effect of being so closely tied. I never intended this to happen like this. However I was happy she was so keen to meet Anja.

"Thank you Sookie. She is our only hope, but I trust you to do this. You may find that you have things in common with her, she has a lover who is human and has chosen to stay within this world after the portals were closed. She has the ability to travel between the worlds still as she is of the higher level of elves, but she still chooses her human lover of immortality in her own world."

"As I would choose you over anything." She pulls me to her and as she straddles me she slides painstakingly slowly down by shaft so I am fully encased in her. She sets the rhythm which is rapid and needy and as my hands find my way between us to her nub she comes hard and bares her neck to me. I bite down and draw deeply at her beautifully sweet blood and come hard as I do. Sookie is also screaming with pleasure as I do this, and her eyes are hooded with lust as she meets my gaze. I pull her out of the tub and speed us into the bedroom to continue our love-making session.

We both pleasure each other on multiple occasions, and I cannot think of a place I would rather be than with my beautiful fairy. We will have a busy week, and I know that I should attend Fangtasia at some point during the week as I have been neglecting my duties. However the sooner I can get rid of that place the better as far as I am concerned.

After tiring her completely she falls asleep in my arms, and for the first time in a long time I fall asleep before dawn, completely satisfied by the events of the evening. I can't wait for my life with this part human, part fae. And I now know for sure that I could not live without her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sookie**

Damn, what was that noise?

I was deep in a sleep when I awoke to the irritating sound of my alarm going off, it was 11am, much earlier than I had awoken the last few mornings. I reached over to the bedside table and turned the alarm off, hauling myself out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. I knew that if I looked back at Eric resting in the bed I would never want to leave. When I reached the door to the bathroom I finally allowed myself a glance back in his direction, his beautiful body splayed across the massive bed, his hair messy across the pillow – a remnant of our late night romp. I allowed myself a few moments of gawking at him before I dragged myself into the shower.

After I've showered and washed my hair I pop into the dressing room and pull on dark-blue jeans and a dark green long-sleeve top that hugs my curves in just the right way. I continue to dry my hair and put a little make-up on before pulling on a pair of ankle boots. I walk into Eric's office and pick up the documents he's left that I needed for us to marry. I needed to pop back to Bon Temps to get my birth certificate before heading back to Shreveport to speak to the clerk in the Caddo Parish. I was sincerely hoping that I could find someone vampire-friendly to marry us, but I knew that Eric's position within society was known even within the human world and hoped that would work in our favour.

I smiled as I read Eric's note to me, and placed it in my bedroom drawer where I had stored the other notes from him. I intended to pick up some clothes and personal belongings from Gran's house, and I definitely wanted to bring the box of letters and souvenirs I had collected relating to Eric. I was sure he would be amazed that I had saved the bullets he took for me. I was planning to show those to him before we bonded.

I walked back to the bed and placed a chaste kiss of my vampire's lips and then willed myself back up the stairs, the documents in my bag. I grabbed a quick breakfast and then headed towards the door that led to the underground garage. Eric had told me he was happy for me to drive any of his cars, but I was truly amazed by size of the collection. There must have been at least thirty cars in the room and I was completely spoilt for choice, every car looking very fast and expensive. I was intimidated and wished I had asked Eric to move my car back from Fangtasia, even though I was fairly sure it would have been crushed by now – he really did hate that car!

After spending far too long staring at the cars I chose a brand new silver Cadillac XLR and grabbed the keys off the wall. I put my bag on the passenger seat and headed slowly out of the garage into the glaring sunlight of the midday sun. I drove slowly down the gravelled driveway and stopped as I got to the guards at the gate. I was sincerely hoping that one of them wouldn't insist on coming with me, but they just nodded to me and I told them I would be back in a few hours.

As I headed down the free way I realised I was starting to enjoy driving such a beautiful, powerful car, and although I stuck to the speed limit I relished the feel of this car. I wondered if Eric would ever let me drive his precious corvette. Though I was fairly certain I would need to bring this car back in one piece first.

As I reached my home in Bon Temps a strange sensation fell over me. This suddenly didn't feel like home any more. Gran wasn't here, Amelia and Octavia weren't here and I didn't have a job in this town any more. My life was now with Eric, he was my world and the one I loved more than anything. I missed Gran and wished that she could have met him, she'd have been fascinated by any stories he could have told her, and being over a thousand years old I was certain he had many to tell. I was worried about this house becoming neglected, and as I made my way inside I made a mental note that I should come back here as often as I could, or at least ask Amelia to cast a stasis spell on it if I was gone for longer. I certainly wasn't going to sell the place, and Jason didn't need it.

I grabbed a duffel bag out of the cupboard and threw some of my favourite clothes and underwear into it, along with my make-up, perfume and hair accessories, a few photos and the ID documents I needed. I pulled the box of memories out from under my bed, opened it and fingered the bullet I had sucked out of Eric's chest in Dallas and smiled as I remembered his devious cunning as I ingested his blood for the first time, that was the start of it all. Maybe I needed to get him back for that one. I would have fun thinking of a way to punish him. I made my way around the house and took all the things I wanted to take to our place in Shreveport and put them in the boot of the car. Our place? It sounded good, and I was happy that my decision to move in with Eric had been so easy. After all, I was going to be his wife in less than a week.

I left the house behind and headed down Hummingbird Lane, but within moments of leaving I saw the flashing blue lights of a police car behind me indicating that I should pull over. I did so and watched Andy Bellefleur pull his torso out of the police car and walk towards me. He was wondering why someone in a car like this would be up at my place, and certainly had no idea that it was me, hence the confused expression on his face when he saw me.

"Sookie Stackhouse, why are you driving this car? Is it yours?" He was giving me an accusing glance and actually considered that I had stolen the car even though I had never been in trouble with the police before in my life.

"No Detective Bellefleur, this car belongs to my fiancé." I instantly regretted saying that the moment it slipped out of my mouth, but his thoughts towards me were so derogatory I could not help myself.

"I hope you aren't referring to Bill Compton, the vampire that lives across the cemetery from you?"

"No Andy, he lives in Shreveport, and if you don't mind I really need to get going, I have errands to run." I had to get away soon as I didn't want to tell Andy any more than I had to. I realised that this nugget of information would be half way around Bon Temps by the next morning. Luckily at that point his radio went.

"Okay Sookie, you can go, but make sure you drive the speed limit in that thing, I don't want to see you smashed into a tree." And with that he turned and got back into the police car, no doubt telling whoever was on the radio that crazy Sookie Stackhouse had gotten engaged to some rich man in Shreveport. Of course I knew that some people would put two and two together and realise it was Eric, Sam being a main contender, but most people would just gossip and speculate on who it could be. I was planning to spend as little time as possible in Bon Temps over the coming months. I did realise that I should call Jason though, I didn't want him to find out about my engagement from some gossipy old woman in Merlottes that evening.

I drove off leaving Andy in his car and headed back into the direction of Shreveport, glad that I was away from the small town of my youth. I went into the clerk's office and luckily only had a ten minute wait before I could see him. The man who was called Ian Davison was a short, squat man of around 45 with thinning dark hair and was dressed in a suit at least one size too small for him. He looked strangely familiar to me and I could tell that he recognised me. When I explained I was to marry the vampire Eric Northman his face lit up and his mind was full of images of Eric sat on his thrown in Fangtasia. Luckily this meant that Ian would happily perform our wedding at Eric's house, and he was not concerned by the fact it was it was a night-time wedding and therefore out of normal hours. I explained to him the importance of the secrecy of our wedding and he promised to keep quiet, and I was quite sure that Eric would glamour the poor man after the event anyway. Eric needed to meet with him personally, and Ian agreed that he would happily take the documents with him to Fangtasia for Eric to sign. I told him he would be there the next night, and arranged a provisional appointment of nine.

As I left the clerk's office I was pleased that things were heading in the right direction, and I drove back to the house, the guards letting me by as soon as they saw it was me. I decided not to risk parking the car back in the underground garage and instead left the car by the front door in the place that Eric's corvette had occupied the other day when he first introduced me to this place. I looked up again at the house I was now to be calling home. The outside of the house really was spectacular, with the large white columns on the outside reflecting the early afternoon sun. The house was truly pristine and looked like it had been recently painted.

I let myself back into the house, took my things downstairs and put them away before heading to the kitchen for a quick sandwich. I then perched myself in a comfy armchair in the den with a cup of steaming hot chocolate and dialled Amelia's number, waiting a few rings before she picked up.

"_Hello?"_

"Amelia, hi, its Sookie." I paused, waiting to see if she would respond to me or just hang up the phone on me.

"_Sookie! How are you? I'm so sorry that I haven't been in contact. I know you've been going through a horrible time and I abandoned you for New Orleans. Are you okay? How is Bon Temps?" _

She was gushing and sounded genuinely pleased to hear from me. I too should have contacted her much sooner, but I think we were both maybe to sensitive about the other's feelings. Her voice changed as she asked her last question, _"How are your injuries, are you still in pain?"_

"Things are good, thanks Amelia. I'm much better. I'm staying with Eric, we've worked things out and he healed my injuries so I'm not in pain anymore."

She paused, I know that hearing things were good between Eric and I would be painful for her, but I was inviting her to my wedding.

"_I'm pleased for you Sookie, honestly. You've been through a lot and deserve to be happy."_

"Thank you, Hun. Though I do have another confession to make. Eric and I are getting married on Saturday, and I would really love it if you could be there." She screamed loudly down the phone and I could hear her jumping up and down.

"_SOOKIE, that's fantastic! Of course I will come up – are you getting married in Bon Temps, is Sam going to be there? I've actually quite missed that dog!"_

Ah, Sam and Bon Temps. "I've been living in Shreveport with Eric over the last few days, everything is moving so fast, and he has the most magnificent house here. And in the garden is a truly beautiful cottage he built for me within woods with wild flowers and a hot tub outside. Its so perfect." I knew that I was gushing, but I couldn't help myself. I was happier them I had ever been, and so in love with Eric it hurt to be away from him. I imagined this pain would be even worse once we were bonded by love. I continued less enthusiastically, "And Sam and I aren't exactly talking at the moment, we had a massive row and I quit my job. I'm not sure that he'll ever talk to me again, and quite simply right now I don't want to see him either."

"_Sookie, you and Sam always fight, he'll get over it. Are you going to invite him?"_

"No. We're keeping this as small as we can as we can't have de Castro finding out, it'll probably be just you, Pam, Bill, Eric and I. I'm not even inviting Jason as he still hates me at the moment." I wasn't going to tell her just yet about the bonding, I'd wait until she was here for that. "You can stay at our house, we have plenty of room here. And Eric also wanted to know whether you'd consider putting come up some wards around this place, he'd pay you for your work?" I hoped that I wasn't bombarding her with too much information.

"_Sure Sookie, I understand you guys need to stay safe with de Castro around. But if you don't mind me saying, isn't it a bit early for marriage? You guys haven't really been together for that long, though I know you have the blood-bond and all..."_

I was expecting this. "Amelia, I know now that there is no way I could live without him. There is no way we could live without each other. Eric told me when he came to me in Bon Temps after the fairies took me that he would meet the sun after I died." Tears were prickling at my eyes as I said this, but I knew I would do anything for my vampire.

"_Oh my god! He'd really do that? Wow."_

"I know. Amelia, I love him so much, and as we're already married in his world, I can't wait to marry him in my world. I want to be Mrs Northman, I want to spend all my time with him. He's even talked about giving up Fangtasia and us opening a business together, a restaurant or wine bar in Shreveport. He loves me, he is my world."

"_It certainly sounds like he does love you. Anyway, so I'll see you on Saturday, email me the directions to his house and I'll arrive in the afternoon and help you get ready. Is there anything else you need me to do? Do you have a dress yet?"_

"I'm going shopping with Pam tomorrow night, and as the wedding is going to be so small there isn't too much to do. Thanks though. Love you Amelia, I appreciate it that you're coming."

We said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone. Things had still been a little awkward between us, but I hoped that as soon as we saw each other we would be able to put our past and the fairies behind us. I wanted nothing more than to see Amelia as happy as I was.

I next called Jason, and after a few rings it went to his answer phone. I know that I was wimping out, but I decided it probably was better if I left him a message, at least that way he couldn't say he heard first from the local gossip. "Hi Jason, its Sookie, just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be getting married soon. I'm living in Shreveport at the moment, so why don't you give me a call back and we can discuss. I'd love it for you to formally meet Eric. Speak later, Bye."

I looked at the time and saw it was three in the afternoon. I was feeling a little sleepy and headed back downstairs, removed my clothes and curled into Eric who remained in the same position as I left him that morning. I pulled a soft blanket up around me and it didn't take long for me to fall asleep with my head resting on his muscled chest.

I awoke a few hours later to feel hands gently smoothing my hair and a pair of beautiful sapphire blue eyes staring down at me.

"I love watching you sleep, you're like an angel." He kissed me tenderly on the forehead and I moved my whole body so I could get better access to his lips and I returned his kiss with all that I was worth. He pulled me up his naked body and cradled me in his arms, though our lips had never lost contact. I could not help myself but moan into his mouth as I felt the love and lust flowing from him through our bond.

When I finally had to come up for air I screamed as he flew us with vampire speed into the bathroom and deposited me in the shower. We cleaned each other under the hot steamy water, each taking out time to bring the other to orgasm before we joined together and he pushed me against the wall as he entered into me. The heat sensations were incredible, Eric's cool body pushing me against the cold tiled walls while the hot water poured on to me. I was in heaven as Eric thrusted into me, my orgasm growing as we moved in perfect synchrony with each other. My orgasm finally hit at the same time as Eric's when he bit into my breast, and I lost the use of my vision as I was blinded by the intensity.

He continued to hold me as I came down from my high and I stared up into his eyes, enjoying the smirk on his face as I knew that it was as a result of the resplendent orgasm I had just been subjected to. He leaned down and whispered into my ear that he wanted to fuck me like that every evening when he awoke, and I could not stop the blush that formed when he spoke to me like that.

We climbed out of the shower and I told him about my day, about picking up my stuff from Bon Temps, finding someone to marry us, his meeting with the clerk the next evening and my phone calls to Amelia and Jason.

"Thank you, Sookie. You are truly magnificent, thank you for sorting those things out. I'm lucky to have you, my love. I would be grateful of your help more often as I know I can trust you"

"I'm sure I could help you more, but I guess if I put Bobby Burnham out of a job he'll hate me even more?" I laughed, though when I saw the look on Eric's face I quickly back tracked. "Not that he really hates me of course … I think he's just jealous of me." I didn't want to have Mr Burnham's death on my hands. Eric knew that I was now trying to protect him and let out a snide laugh.

"I'm quite aware that Bobby is not your biggest fan, its why I haven't been using him so much over the last few months. But it is hard to find someone to deal with things like that, and Bobby has been with me for quite a few years. But of course I now have you lover. Maybe you could be my day-person. But I want you at night as well, and preferably naked." He growled as he pushed me onto the bed, his weight pressing down on me, making me enjoy the closeness of him to me. I wrapped my arms and legs around him and we lay there, enjoying each other for a few minutes before he stood up.

"Come lover, I have booked us a quiet table at Fernando's, let us get ready." He pulled my hand and led me to the dressing room, pulling me out a pair of silver heals, a pale pink bra and panties set and a similarly pink chiffon dress that came to me knees. He put on a silver suit with a pale blue shirt, leaving the top two buttons undone with no tie. He looked incredible, and the suit fit him perfectly. I wondered how big his dry-cleaning bill was, but I did not voice that stray thought.

He whisked us out the door into his corvette and we sped down the gravel path, the gates being opened just in time my the guards so that we didn't have to plough straight through them. Fernando's was one of the nicest restaurants in Shreveport, and had recently expanded to serve vampire clientèle as well as humans. As we pulled up outside a valet took the car keys from Eric, who growled at him, warning him that nothing should happen to his car. I could not help but feel sorry for the poor boy who was positively shaking after being growled at by a vampire almost a foot taller than him.

We were seated at a quiet table in the corner of the room and were served by an attractive brunette who was obviously a Were of some sort as I was unable to clearly hear her thoughts. Something I was quite glad of considering the way she was looking at my vampire. I heard Eric laugh as he felt my jealousy and he took my hand from the table, sniffed it and then placed a sensual kiss on the palm of my hand. The waitress quickly left, and I joined Eric in laughing, my leg rubbing up the inside of his under the table. Eric ordered a Royalty Blended while I had a goats cheese soufflé followed by a fillet of beef Wellington with potato purée and roasted vegetables and topped off with a melt in the mouth chocolate fondant. I felt thoroughly spoilt and we were touching throughout the meal, I could not imagine being happier or more in love. It seemed so normal to be out with him, I loved his company and I'd learned to love everything about him, not just the remnants of the Eric I knew when he was cursed. The complete package was even better.

After we got home he lit the fire in the family room and we made love on the rug in front of the heath, the only light in the room coming from the fire and a few candles lit around the room. It was a perfect romantic evening. We lay quietly in each others arms, him listening to the sound of my heart beat and me enjoying the quite of being so close to him.

I sighed, and took a deep breath of his manly, earthy scent. "Thank you, Eric."

He looked down at me, and gently ran his thumb across my cheek. "What for my love?"

"For being you. For being the man that I love. For loving me. For rescuing me – and I don't just mean from the fairies and every other time you've saved my life – but I mean for rescuing me from myself. I was my own worst enemy. I didn't know that I had this capacity to love the way I love you. I did not know that love to this depth truly existed. Thank you for that."

"Sookie, I believe that we are fated. That it was both of our destinies fulfilled when you walked into Fangtasia that night, wearing that dress. I want a long life with you. And if you ingest my blood regularly you will have just that. Will you drink from me now?"

He didn't need to ask twice, I craved his blood as I craved him. He sat up and pulled me to his chest, holding me tight against him with his right arm, his hand resting between my legs and causing me to shiver and he ghosted a finger over my sex. He bit his wrist and put it to my mouth as I sucked on the wound greedily. With his right hand he was rubbing my nub with his thumb while thrusting two fingers inside me, hitting my g-spot perfectly. This was not going to take long for me to orgasm, and as soon as he bit into my neck I found my release as Eric found his against the small of my back.

We laid in each others arms for the rest of the night, me gently dozing in his arms as he was in down time. I vaguely remembered being carried downstairs at some point, as when I awoke it was already three in the afternoon.

I didn't have many plans for the afternoon, but could not wait to go out with Pam in the evening to chose my wedding dress. I knew that Shreveport would have a limited selection, and I certainly had no time for any alterations, but Pam hold told me she knew just the place and had set up a private late-night appointment for me. After getting showered and changed and kissing my Viking gently on his ass I picked up my phone.

I had one missed call and one voice-mail message from Jason. I dialled the number and listened to the message. I could immediately tell that Jason was not impressed.

"_You're marrying a fucking vampire? What the fuck is wrong with you Sookie? Sam told me last night in Merlottes who this fucker was, and I promise you that if I ever do see him I'm going to have a stake with his name on it. I can't believe my sister some fang-banging whore! I want nothing to do with you any more, and I hope you take his last name as I don't want to be associated with you any more. Fucking vampires, Arlene was right about them. Go burn in hell, Sookie. Gran would be disgusted with you."_

My tears were falling hard from my eyes and I was sobbing uncontrollably. I could not believe my brother would be so unsupportive. I wasn't expecting a glowing recommendation, but a 'congrats Sookie' would have been nice. I'd dropped my phone on the bed and collapsed on top of it in a heap on the bed. I was feeling heartbroken, I now had no family left.

"Sookie, what's wrong?"

Eric? I spun around and saw that my vampire was now laying on his back and had one eye open looking at me. I quickly crawled up the bed into his arms, his touch instantly soothing me.

"You're awake?"

"I felt you grief, please tell me what's wrong." His voice was soft as he kissed me gently on the top of my head.

"It's nothing, really. Just Jason being a dick. He called me a fang-banging whore and said he wanted nothing more to do with me."

I could feel Eric's anger rise within him, and this time it was me pushing my soothing to him. "I will have words with your brother. He will not be allowed to talk to you like that."

"No, Eric, really you don't. I just want to forget about him, forget about that part of my life and move on with you. Now go back to sleep, I'll see you later when you wake up."

He eyed me wearily and then drifted back into his daytime slumber. I could tell that we hadn't finished that situation, and I was quite sure Eric couldn't make it any worse than it was by threatening Jason, but I didn't want anything to happen to my brother. I had made up my mind, however, that I did not want to spend any more time in Bon Temps. My life there was over.

I spent the rest of the afternoon pottering around the house, I put on a few loads of washing and tidied up a bit. About an hour before sunrise I went back down to see Eric and got back in bed with him, snuggling up to his side and allowing my hand to stroke his lower abdomen just above his gracious plenty.

"Lower," he growled, and I moved my hand higher up his body to his chest, looking up to smirk at him as I did so. In a move as quick as a flash he flipped me over, pinning my hands above my head with one large hand and my legs pinned down onto the bed underneath his. With his spare hand he started to tickle me on my sides and I could not help but scream and squirm although there was no chance of getting out of the iron grip he held me in. "Insolent child, you think that you can play with me?" His blue eyes were sparkling with mischief as he continued his assault on my sides.

When I was starting to hyperventilate from the laughing and screaming his tickling was causing he released me and I rolled up into the foetal position, trying to protect my sensitive sides from his onslaught. He let out a laugh from deep within his chest and pulled me to him, this time attacking me with sloppy kisses.

"I'm afraid my love I must leave at first dark to get to Fangtasia. I've been neglecting my work over the last few days, and although I have had much more fun being here with you, I must attend to vampire business tonight. Can you forgive me that?"

I knew he must have work to do, but I was sad at not being able to spend the whole evening with him. Since when did I become so clingy and needy? "Of course, I understand that my vampire sheriff has work to attend to. He is an important man and I would not expect anything less! Are you meeting de Castro or Madden?" Those two still worried me, and I knew that not telling them about the wedding and bonding was dangerous.

"Luckily not. Those two have been quite quiet of late, and I hope they remain that way. However I do not trust them and we must be vigilant. Pam should be here shortly after I leave, and I want you to have fun tonight. I cannot wait to see you in your wedding dress, you will be a vision of beauty, my fairy princess." He kissed my hand in a gentlemanly manor, and then pulled me to the bathroom for a round of not so gentlemanly shower-sex.

After we were both satisfied, clean and dressed we headed back upstairs and Eric kissed me goodnight as he left in a different car for a change, leaving the red corvette still at the front of the house. I smiled as I remembered nearly having sex with him on that car at the orgy, and I wondered how our relationship would be different if I had submitted to him earlier. Had I been wasting my time not being with Eric, or would the dynamic of our relationship be different. Maybe we would have to recreate that moment. Pink Lycra and all.

I flicked on the TV and watched a random property programme before Pam pulled up in her Mercedes and we headed off to our appointment in Shreveport. She was mercilessly ribbing Eric and I the whole journey for not giving her time to arrange a wedding shower or plan a bigger ceremony for us. We pulled up in one of the classier districts of Shreveport and entered into the small bridal shop where we were met by three women, none of whom were human.

Pam walked confidently into the shop and embraced the tallest of the three ladies, "Carolyn, good to see you. This is Sookie, she is Master Eric's bonded and soon to be wife. Sookie, please meet Carolyn and her assistants Marie and Elena." She introduced me to the ladies with polite handshakes all round. All three women were dark haired and had strange green eyes. Pam turned back to me, "Sookie, I'm sure you've noticed that these lovely ladies are not of the human plane, they are daemons, and hundreds of years old. However they are very experienced in this, and will be able to create whatever your hearts desire."

Create? Seriously, I get married in four days, how could they create it. Carolyn turned to me, "Have you any ideas of what kind of dress you would like?"

I thought about it, when daydreaming the other day. I had imagined this soft-flowing fairy-like dress. It was had gentle shoestring straps and fitted across the chest, but was flowing to the floor with ribbons and lace, and the colours were incredible, soft shades of pink, blue and pale yellow. It was incredible and seemed completely out of this world as the dress had seemed to shimmer and change constantly in the breeze.

I snapped out of my daydream and looked back at Carolyn who had a knowing smile on her face. She grinned and Pam and then held my hand and deposited me in one of the fitting rooms. I was about to say something when Pam held up her hand to shush me. Within seconds Elena had returned from the back with a garment bag in her hand and passed it to Carolyn. She unzipped the bag and there was my dress, exactly how I had imagined it.

I didn't know what to say. The dress shimmered and changed colour as it floated to the floor. It was the most perfect dress I could have imagined and there it was. The ladies helped me into the dress, which fit me perfectly, and she pulled out a matching hairpiece and small veil. The shoes they supplied me with also somehow seemed to match the dress. I was astounded.

"Sookie, you look beautiful, as I knew you would." Pam had a very satisfied smirk on her face that was pure Eric. "He will love you in that, though you must not let him rip it off you, its far to nice for the games that you two get up to!" She laughed at me and I rolled my eyes at her. It was the perfect dress and I knew I did not need to look elsewhere. After I was changed back into my jeans and t-shirt, I attempted to try and pay for the dress but was told that Eric had already done so. I was going to have words with that vampire. I bid the ladies goodnight and thanked them for their help before heading back to the house.

Once we were in the car I turned to Pam. "Pam, there is something I need to discuss with you, and I don't think you're going to be very happy with me."

She raised an eyebrow at me, her face partly concerned and partly intrigued. "What is it, Sookie?"

I took in a deep breath, I needed to just say this. "Its about Eric. As you know, after the fairies took me, Eric and I had a lot of talking to do. We talked about bonding further, the love bond."

"I know, Eric has told me you intend to do this on Sunday at first dark. I have arranged that Stan will arrive in the early hours of Sunday morning."

"Well, when we initially talked about this I was dead against it..."

Pam interrupted me, seemingly angry at that statement, "Why Sookie, do you not love my Master enough to want to bind to him?" Her blue eyes were glaring at me and I felt about an inch tall.

"Pam, of course I love him. I love him more than anything, but he told me that if we were bound like this then he would not be able to live after me. He told me that he would meet the sun the next morning!" Pam was quiet, I paused to regain my composure. "However he then told me he was already at that stage now, that he would not survive my passing. That is why I agreed to do it, at least it will keep de Castro and others away."

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked in a small voice.

"Because you have to keep him alive, you are the only one that can. I cannot live my life knowing that if I got hit by a bus and died the very next morning Eric would meet the sun. You have to do everything you can to look after him. Pam, I love him, but I cannot have my death meaning his. He's too important to me to do that."

Tears were rolling down my face as we pulled back into the grounds of the house, and Pam remained quiet until we were sat in the kitchen.

"I will do what I can. Now that I know this I will know how to handle my Master when the worst happens." She paused, lost in her own thoughts. I made us both drinks and handed her a blood. I sat back at the table idly swirling the hot chocolate in my mug. "Of course, you could just become vampire." Her voice was soft, but I knew that Pam saw this as the only way to keep Eric alive. I felt very selfish.

"Pam," I didn't really know what to say. I had had this conversation with her many times, and we had never agreed with each others reasoning. She could not understand why I would not want to spend eternity with Eric, and she could not understand that I did not want to give up daylight, that I did not want to be undead. "Can we not talk about this now. I'm marrying Eric on Saturday, binding with him on Sunday, and I plan on living a long time with him. You know how much I love him, and would do anything for him, but I cannot do that. I'm sorry."

Pam looked resigned, and we headed to the den to watch a couple of moves while we waited for Eric. I must have fallen asleep as when I awoke Eric and Pam were in the hallway having an argument in hushed tones. It stopped shortly after I awoke, and Eric came in, kissed me on the lips and carried me downstairs. I caught a glimpse of Pam's face as I passed, and I could see the pink rims around her eyes that were the tell-tale signs of a vampire crying. This was very unlike Pam, I had never seen her show any signs of emotion before. I imagined she must have confronted him about what I had told her, and knew Eric and I would have to discuss this tomorrow.

Eric undressed me once we were downstairs and pulled me to him in bed, whispering words of his ancient language that soothed my soul. We fell asleep in each others arms, and I could not wait for the rest of my life with this man.


	9. Chapter 9

_Get me, two chapters in one day!_

* * *

I awoke the next morning to find myself tangled in Eric's arms, and it took all my strength and effort to slide out of his grip. It was around midday and the hunger pangs were setting in as I'd not eaten as much as should the day before. I quickly showered and changed and headed upstairs for some breakfast and a much needed cup of coffee. The odd thing was that this kitchen always seemed fully stocked, and when I used something it was miraculously replaced. I'd need to ask Eric about it just to make sure that I wasn't going completely crazy.

I was due to been the elf Anja at 5 that evening, so I had a few hours to kill before then. I took a laptop outside to enjoy the autumn sun and started to look for some wedding flowers. As we were getting married by the cottage in the woods I didn't want anything too ornate, and now that I'd found my dress I wanted something that would compliment the delicate make-up of the dress. I searched the internet for an hour or so, but could not get past the beautiful pink, white and purple trailing orchid bouquet I found, so I ordered this along with button-holes for Eric and Bill and smaller versions of my bouquet for Amelia and Pam. I also ordered some matching arrangements for the main house and the cottage.

Eric was dealing with the catering for both humans and vampires, though I'm not sure I particularly wanted to know what the vampires were to be drinking as I knew Eric dined mostly on my blood these days with a supplement of bottled blood, and Bill wasn't yet up to surviving on the artificial blood following his silver poisoning. I was quite surprised that Eric has actually asked Bill to our wedding as I expected that he would have given that task to me as I was the one who wanted him there in the first place. Bill hadn't, however, been invited to stay the night as our bonding was to take place early the next evening, and I certainly did not want my ex-boyfriend there for that. Even the thought of doing it in front of Pam and the nerdy Stan Davis was enough, but I knew it was a necessity. I'm sure that he probably was a ruthless vampire king, but I couldn't help see him as a nerd.

When it was nearly time for my meeting I ran downstairs to put on something a little more formal, did my hair and a little light make-up and picked up the sealed envelope that Anja was to deliver to Niall in the Fae Realm. I looked over to Eric asleep on the bed, and stared in awe at his handsome features and perfectly muscular large body. I was struggling to believe that I was going to marry this man in a few days. I knew that technically we were married under vampire lore, but I had never quite grasped the significance of being married by the knife. It was only a few weeks ago that I thought I would never see him again, that I thought he wasn't coming to rescue me, that he had abandoned me in my time of need. I felt a pang of guilt at the things I accused him of afterwards. I knew now that he would do anything for me, that he would kill for me and die for me if needs be.

I headed back upstairs after a spending a few moments holding Eric's letter in my hand, and at a few minutes before five I heard a knock at the door.

I opened the door to see a tall beautiful brunette standing in the doorway. She was ethereal, with large aquamarine almond-shaped eyes, high cheekbones and full lips. She was dressed in a simple pale blue dress that matched her eyes and ballet shoes. She must have been around six foot tall. "You must be Sookie, nice to meet you, I'm Anja." She held out her hand and we shook hands, me slightly in awe still from her presence.

When I found my voice and my Southern manners, I managed to speak, "Please come in, can I get you anything to eat or drink?"

She smiled at me as she entered the house, "Thank you, a glass of water would be great, though please hold the lemon." I smiled and wondered how similar fairies and elves were. I was not sure whether she could read my mind, but she answered my question anyway as she followed me into the kitchen. "We elves share some similarities with the Fae, a distaste for lemon being one, though we are not so allergic as the Fae are."

I handed her a glass of water and one for myself, and we headed back to the family room where we both sat on the large leather sofa. I could not hear any of her thoughts and felt the same hum I experienced around the fairies I had known. I still had the letter Eric had written in my hand and was nervously playing with it in my hands.

"I will take the letter to Niall, I promise you that, but I would like to know what is so important that you must ask the Prince himself." She looked at me with intense yet friendly eyes. I decided I needed to be honest with her.

"Niall Brigant is my great-grandfather. I only found this out fairly recently and I was starting to get to know him when I was kidnapped and tortured by Lochlan and Neave under the orders of Breandon. I was somehow rescued by Niall and a vampire and then the battle ensued. And now Niall's sealed off the entrances to the Fae realm so he's unable to help. It seems you are the only hope we have of getting the information we need from him."

"You survived Lochlan and Neave? You are a strong woman indeed, Sookie, there are many that would not survive ten minutes with those two. How did you survive?" How did I indeed. I needed to explain the whole story.

"I am blood bonded to Eric Northman, vampire sheriff of Area 5 here in Louisiana. He is over a thousand years old and we are married by the knife in vampire lore. On Saturday we are marrying under human tradition as well." I smiled to myself thinking of my pending wedding. "When I was kidnapped Eric had to entertain the King of Louisiana so could not personally come and get me, however he felt and absorbed every bite and slice they inflicted upon me and he pushed his strength through our bond. He saved my life that night."

She was quiet while she processed the information I had just told her. "The vampire loves you that is for certain. I have lived a long time and I have never heard of a vampire that would do that, even for his bonded."

I was confused, "But I thought that when the human dies it can really hurt the vampire, that a part of them dies to. Wouldn't they just help the human for their own benefit?"

"That's not always the case, and to be honest quite rarely does that happen. You have to understand that vampires feel much stronger than a human, and where with feelings of hunger, lust or anger it can be useful for a vampire, more complex feelings such as love can destroy a vampire if they feel too deeply. This is the reason vampires from an early age learn to suppress those feelings. It is unusual to even find a vampire with the capacity for love, and I am very surprised to find it in one as old as yours.

"It is often the case that when the human dies the vampire will miss them for a while, but that hole will quickly be replaced by something else, either another human or some other infatuation."

"But, Eric … Eric said …." I could feel myself coming undone, but Anja took my hand in hers.

"Your case is different. If there is love from the start of the bond then it forms differently. Eric must have loved you from when you first ingested his blood. Tell me how that happened."

"Well, he tricked me. We were in Dallas and the fellowship shot bullets into the house and Eric sheltered me beneath his body and took the bullet for me. He told me that I had to suck the bullet out. I did not realise they would just work themselves out."

"He may have tricked you, but he saved you life in an act of love. Do you still have that bullet?"

"Yes. I wrapped it in cloth after I removed it from him and kept it in a box. I have it in my closet with some letters that Eric has written to me. What is the significance of the bullet?"

"It completes the circle. It is what drew you together in the first place, and now you are completing the bond. Are you bonded by love?"

"That is what we need to ask Niall about. We're unsure whether my fairy magic would have any implications on the bonding. We're hoping that he will be able to answer that question."

"Then I will make sure I come back to you with his response as soon as possible. This is of vital importance to you two. However I will also tell Niall about what you have told me of that bullet. I suspect that your fairy magic may make that bullet even more powerful. Do not tell Eric what I have told you until I have spoken to Niall."

She got up off the sofa and drew me to her arms. "I will be back as soon as I can and I look forward to meeting your vampire. When I come back, please leave me alone with your bonded for a few moments and go and get the bullet. If I am right you will want to give it back to him tonight."

"Will he be okay with you, I mean vampires and fairies don't mix."

"I will be fine, Elf blood is intoxicating to vampires but we do not smell the way a fairy does, and I have no intention of letting your vampire bite me. I will see you later, young one." With that I let her out of the house, the letter to Niall in her hand and watched her disappear into thin air as she entered the fairy realm.

I had felt Eric awaken towards the end of the conversation so I headed down the secret passage to our bedroom. When I opened the door he raised an eyebrow expectantly at me and I could feel his anxiety.

I walked towards him and wrapped my arms around his naked body. "She has taken the letter and will give it to Niall. She plans on returning as soon as she can." He visibly relaxed and wrapped his arms around me.

"So we have a few hours to kill, any ideas?" He raised his eyebrow at me with a smirk.

"Yeah, I was thinking I may catch up on some laundry actually..." I squeezed out of his grip and made it a few paces towards the door before he caught me and threw me on the bed causing me to bounce a few times. He was instantly upon me and pulling my clothes from me.

"You are overdressed my love. Yield to me, I want you now"

I could not help but melt into him, the man was addictive and when he was in this kind of mood I could not refuse him. He was kissing me in any available place, his hand gently rubbing over my exposed skin. I was squirming in pleasure under his touch and moaning into his mouth as he kissed me. Before I knew it I was naked as well and he slipped down between my legs, his rough tongue licking me from my core right the way up and I nearly came undone with that one lick. He took his time, he was in no rush and I savoured the attention he was giving me.

Soon enough I reached my peak and I returned the favour, taking him slowly into my mouth and sucking, nibbling, licking a biting my way around his hard penis and balls. I was teasing him, bringing him to the point of orgasm and then backing off. I think he may have enjoyed it the first time I did that but on the third occasion he growled as he got close, and I did not dare to stop.

As soon as he had recovered he was on me again and scooped me, flying me into the games room and depositing me on the snooker table, balls flying everywhere.

"You think you can tease me do you, Miss Stackhouse?" He had a dangerous glint in his eye. He pulled me to the edge of the table and slowly but firmly entered into me all the way as I stretched around his length. His pace quickened until my moans gave it away that I was close and he stopped, remaining encased inside me but not giving me the friction I needed. I howled in frustration, trying to grind myself against him but he held me firmly in place.

I opened my eyes to see a very self-satisfied smirk on his face. He was enjoying my discomfort as I had enjoyed his earlier.

"Okay, Eric," I was pleading with him now, "I'm sorry, I won't do it again. Please continue, I need you."

"Is someone admitting they were wrong to tease their lover?" He was now enjoying this too much. I was in an uncomfortable position on the snooker table, but I was not going to give in.

"Come on Eric, you enjoyed it and you know it." He picked me up off the table, him being still inside me as he slowly walked to the wall and pushed me against it. He started nibbling down my neck and I was starting to come undone. I was desperately trying move against him but his grip was to firm on me.

"Lover," the glint in his eye was dangerous again. As his face was so close to mine I was able to lean in and run my tongue on the length of his fully extended fang. It had the desired effect as he started thrusting into me at such an incredible pace I could not keep up with him, but rather just held on for the ride he was taking me on. It didn't take too long at that pace for us both to reach our climaxes, and I knew that I was going to be sore.

He pulled out of me and sat me on the love seat. "I'm sorry my love, I know I was rough with you there, would you let me heal you?" I nodded, and rather than biting his wrist and offering it to me, he bit his finger and knelt on the floor as he administered his blood inside me. It was a wonderful feeling, and I couldn't help at being aroused at the intimacy of the act and the care he was taking. When he was done he carried me in his arms back downstairs and we climbed into the hot tub.

Neither of us spoke, rather we just enjoyed each others company, kissing and gently stroking each other. When the water started to cool he pulled me out and delicately dried me, making sure there were no injuries or bruises on me from our earlier lovemaking session. We both dressed smarter than normal for our meeting with Anja, and I could tell that Eric was tense about what the response from Niall would be.

We went back upstairs and I cooked myself a light meal while Eric sat at the kitchen table checking his emails on his iPhone. That reminded me. "Eric, how come the food here keeps on being replaced? Do you have people that come in?"

"That I do my love. I have a cleaner who has been with me for over sixty years. She is part-demon and I trust her implicitly. Not long after first meeting you I asked her to always keep the house fully stocked with everything a human woman could need. And when I built the cottage for you she was instructed to do the same down there. I don't want you to go hungry and I know that I have a bad habit of not feeding you as often as I should. I'm sorry for that."

I was touched, he was upset that he felt he neglected my human needs at times. "That's okay, it'll take us time to adjust to living with each other. You've never spent a lot of time with anyone that needs to be fed."

He nodded, and after I'd eaten we headed into the family room to await Anja's arrival. We chose to watch _Shadow of the Vampire_, to which Eric found incredibly funny. His laughter was keeping me amused and us both distracted at the length of time that Anja was taking.

I'd fallen asleep in his arms when there was a knock at the door. Eric was up like a flash with me still in his arms. When we reached the door Eric placed me on the ground, listened intently and then opened the door. As I peered around him I placed my hand tenderly on his back and sent him calm when I confirmed that it was in fact Anja. He stepped back and allowed her in. She made eye contact with me and gave me a slight nod. I took this as the indication that I should go and get the bullet.

"Anja, thank you for coming back. This is my bonded, Eric. Eric, this is Anja. Can I get either of you drinks? Why don't you two go into the den and I'll go and get us refreshments."

Eric knew that I was rambling and therefore up to something, but I smiled sweetly sending love across the bond. Once I had their drinks orders and they were safely inside the room I ran down the stairs to retrieve the bullet from the box in the wardrobe. It was wrapped in a small piece of cloth and I carefully stowed it in the pocket of my skirt. I ran back up the stairs and got the requested drinks.

As I entered the room the atmosphere seemed a little tense, but I knew that Eric was anxious about what Niall was to say. I sat down next to my vampire and snuggled into his shoulder. We both looked expectantly at Anja.

"Okay, I was able to see Niall, and I do apologise for taking longer than I anticipated. It seemed that Niall had to consult with an elder of the Fae realm before he could give you his answer. I have his response here." She held out a sealed envelope, which Eric took from her. "Niall requested that you read the letter out aloud to all three of us as I may be able to answer any questions you may have."

Eric looked at her then fingered the envelope and bringing it to his nose. Of course, fairy scent. I wasn't going to have my vampire getting high on that scent so I slapped him playfully on the arm to bring him back to reality.

"Sorry," he looked at me sheepishly and I grinned back at him, kissing him gently on the cheek. He opened the letter, examined the length and then cleared his throat unnecessarily before he started reading.

_My dear Sookie and Eric,_

_I hope this letter finds you both well, and I am delighted to hear that you will be marrying by human tradition this coming weekend. Sookie, my only wish is that I could be there to give you away, however unfortunately that will not be an option. Please take this letter, Eric, as consent for you to marry my great-granddaughter. As vampires go you are not a bad one, and certainly the right one for my kin._

Eric growled as he read that last bit. He was obviously not too pleased about Niall giving him his permission to marry me. At least Niall had finally confirmed which vampire he meant. Eric continued.

_Eric, regarding your query about binding for love I can tell you that you were wise to consult with me before going ahead with this. I certainly understand your reasons for wanting to do this as it seems that de Castro is becoming quite the nuisance. What I will tell you is of utmost importance. You can go ahead with this bond, HOWEVER, there are certain effects you must both be aware of before you commit to it._

_Firstly, you will both be mentally linked. You will be able to hear each other's thoughts as well as their emotions as it were your own._

_Secondly, Sookie will be able to tap into your strength, Eric. I'm aware this has happened to some extent already when Sookie was taken by Lochlan and Neave, but that was conscious on your part. She will be able to use your strength, but it is likely to weaken you slightly._

_Thirdly, as long as the two of you continue to regular blood exchanges, Sookie will not age. She will not be immortal, but with your strength on her side it is very likely she could live a long time._

I was grinning by this point, this was fantastic – super strength and not ageing? That was almost as good as being vampire. I could stay with Eric. I smiled up at him and he smiled back, kissing my forehead.

_Lastly, however, and most importantly, if you bind to each other Sookie will NOT be able to become vampire. If she were to die, changing her would not be an option. And Eric, you would not survive the loss of her. You may live until dawn to meet the sun, but it would be likely that you would meet your final death at the same time as hers. The shock of the loss of this bond would tear your soul apart._

The smile had been wiped off both of our faces and a few tears escaped my eyes. It was the fear I had about this bond, that Eric die. It was why I had the conversation with Pam the night before to look after Eric after I died. I knew with his strength and my eternal youth we could live a very long time, but we were always going to be targets. I could be shot by some Fellowship loon and then Eric would die. And if anyone found out about this consequence of my death they would surely use this against Eric. We were both in turmoil, however there was still plenty left of the letter to go. I prompted Eric to continue.

_I understand this is probably not what you were expecting, and I am confident that you will talk this through before you make any decisions. However Anja has informed me of another option. Sookie, I understand that you should have something with you to show Eric._

Eric looked at me with intrigue; puzzlement in his conflicted feelings. I smiled at him reassuringly, looked over to Anja who nodded at me and then retrieved the bullet from my pocket. I took Eric's hand and spread his palm out flat and placed the wrapped bullet in the centre of his large hand. He sniffed the air, recognising his scent and my saliva, and then carefully unwrapped the bullet. He looked at amazement at the bullet in his hand and fingered in front of his eyes.

"Sookie, is this...?"

"Yes," I answered before he could finish his question. "I kept it after I sucked it out of your chest that night in Dallas. I don't really know why I did it. Something just made me keep it. I was going to give it to you this weekend as a memento of our first blood exchange."

"Sookie, you are truly incredible. I love you, and I'm fairly certain I always have. I certainly loved you by the time you sucked this bullet out of me. You have no idea of the effect you have had on me over these years. I thank the gods that I have you now."

It was Anja who spoke up. "Eric, I explained to Sookie earlier this evening that this is what has made your bond different to a bond another vampire may do with a human. Your bond has always been based on love, certainly your love as Sookie may not have been in love with you quite at that stage...," she smiled over at me and I winked up at Eric. "But you have always loved her. This bullet completes the circle of your bond. You are tied together with this bullet. If it starts and finishes with this bullet then you would have a perfect bond. One that could not be broken as long as you both shall be. Sookie will still age, albeit very slowly thanks to your powerful blood, and you can expect to be closely tied to each other if you do this."

Eric and I were both quiet as we considered the options. It was Eric who spoke up. "How do we go about this? You said that our bond starts and finishes with this bullet, what does that mean?"

"Niall's letter should explain this further, keep reading."

_The depth of the bond the two of you share shows that your bond has been formed on a foundation of love. Your bond started when Sookie sucked the bullet from your chest, this can be sealed by this bullet too. I have consulted with the elders of my kind who have confirmed that if the two of you were to combine your bloods with the bullet in the cup and both drink then this would seal your bond. You will be inexplicably tied to each other. We have to admit to being unsure as to whether you would be able to hear each other's thought, likewise whether you Sookie would be able to tap into your strength. But its a possibility that this may happen anyway through your blood exchanges. Of course with this method, Sookie could become vampire, but she would be more than your child. She would remain your partner, you may not be able to command her in the same way you would a normal child._

_I understand that the two of you have a lot to discuss. But I would urge you to act swiftly. Before I closed the entrances to my realm I had heard rumours of de Catsro's growing impatience. He is power hungry and greedy and he sees you as a threat within his kingdom. Just know that you have friends who will help if necessary, just because the Fae are no longer here there are those that may still help you. You have met one of them tonight._

_Sookie, Mr Cataliades should be contacting you shortly, I have split my possessions in the mortal world between your cousin Claude and you. I have quite a few companies and property, so you will find that you can leave your work at Merlottes as money will no longer be an issue for you – you were always too good to work there._

_I wish you all the best, and know that you will make your decision wisely. There are advantages and disadvantages of both so think it through._

_Yours, always_

_Niall Brigant._

Wow. How exactly do we deal with this. We now have two options, could we do both? Probably. There are advantages to the love bond but I really do fear we would be too closely tied, that I could be a danger to Eric. If someone like de Castro knew that killing me would kill Eric then he surely would not hesitate to kill me. Using the bullet we will be tied, but not so closely, I would age slowly and we may well develop extra closeness over time. And then there's the issue of me becoming vampire. I've always been so against it, but to know for certain that it could not happen – that's something entirely different.

I look up at Eric and see that he seems to be having the same mental turmoil as me. Anja is watching us both closely. I'm the first one to break the silence.

"What would you do?" I asked her, I had no idea whether she even understood what we were going through.

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that for you. But what I can tell you is my own story. That I made a huge sacrifice for my husband, that all of my friends and family told me I should not do. Among the woodland elves I was a princess. Much like the fairies, we are powerful and can jump between the worlds. I had been living that life for over 500 years. And then ten years ago I met Kalle in Finland. He was a beautiful man and we fell in love instantly. However I was told I was not allowed to marry him, told that I would have to relinquish my immortality to be with him. That I did, and to this day I know it was the right decision to make. I have kept my former powers and my family are coming around to my more temporary status, however it was my decision to make and I made it for love. All I can tell you is that the two of you need to make this decision based on your love for each other, as this is how it has all started."

She stood up and handed me a piece of paper, "It is nearly dawn and I must be off. I give you my contact details as I would love to see the two of you again once you have made your decision. And if you ever need my help again I will happily be there for you, as I am sure you now would for me."

We walked her to the door and she turned and kissed us both on the cheeks and then vanished into the darkness. I leaned against Eric, resting my head on his chest. He kissed the top of my head then scooped me up into his arms, shut up the house and carried me downstairs.

"We have a lot to talk about Lover. I want to thank you for keeping that bullet. It shows even back then you suspected there was something more to us even if you did insist on refusing my advances!" He gave me a characteristic smirk which quickly softened into a smile.

We undressed each other and climbed into bed, my head and arm on his broad strong chest with my leg linked over his. "I can feel dawn approaching, we should both sleep, it has been an eventful evening. We will talk further tomorrow. Can you make sure you are here when I wake? I didn't like you not being here when I woke tonight."

"I will be here. I too want to wake up with you, and to be honest I suspect I may well sleep until first dark anyway, I feel like I've been on an emotional rollercoaster tonight."

We shared a soft yet passionate kiss before the dawn took us both.


	10. Chapter 10

**Eric**

Over the days since bringing Sookie back to my home much had changed between us. She had pretty much moved in with me without me even needing to ask her, and she had seemed to cut off all ties she had to those in Bon Temps. Though it seemed a shame that she had no friends left there once the witch had fled to New Orleans following the regretful death of her Were. It did mean however that she was here when I woke up and she had settled into a life with me. She genuinely seemed to love it here and in particular the cottage in the grounds I'd built specifically for her.

It did mean that my work had been neglected, and although Pam had pulled more than her weight at Fangtasia, there was much area business I needed to attend do. I had managed to attend to some work once Sookie had fallen asleep for the night, but I needed to be at Fangtasia to deal with the mountain of paperwork that had built up. I was very grateful that Pam was so keen to help Sookie find her wedding dress and help with any arrangements that Sookie was unable to deal with, however my beloved had shown herself to be quite competent with that in organising the wedding so far. It was to be small, and not the normal wedding of a thousand year old vampire sheriff, however I was not marrying a normal girl and the circumstances with the king meant that we had to be discrete.

I was amazed however that Sookie's grief could pull me out of my daytime slumber when I awoke to find her in tears following the message her brother left her. Jason Stackhouse and I were going to have a few choice words regarding the way he talks to his sister. Once she is my wife in his world he will not be allowed within ten miles of her, and I will not allow him to upset her further. I would happily glamour him, but I know that Sookie will not be appreciative of that. And it seems that he needs all the brain cells he can spare, and glamouring could turn him into vegetable – not that I would be too concerned about that.

I left Sookie on Tuesday night to head to Fangtasia while Pam kept an eye on Sookie. I had many meetings lined up, and Rasul was due to meet me an hour after dark. He had survived the takeover by Madden by remaining in the shadows, and was now an influential vampire within Madden's Area 1 set-up. Of course Madden had no idea that he was working with me, but that was all to our advantage. I decided to give the Koenigsegg a run to Fangtasia, leaving the Corvette outside the house. I knew Rasul would be impressed with this car, and I needed to assert some authority over the area vampires.

I was in my office quickly ploughing through my emails and paperwork when Rasul arrived. Thalia knocked on the door to indicate his arrival. The dark-haired Middle Eastern vampire entered shortly after, and I rose from my desk and greeted him.

"Sheriff," he nodded.

"Rasul, thank you for coming. How are things is New Orleans?" I sat back down behind my desk and indicated for him to sit, which he did. Thalia came in and brought us both bottles of Royalty Blended, which we both downed.

"Madden is throwing his weight around. He has sent five Area 1 vampires to their final deaths in the past month, and has had who know how many others have been chained in silver. Many vampires are leaving the area, though I'm sure you know that from the vampires that are relocating here." I smiled, he was right, there had been an unusually large amount of vampires moving into my area. Some of those who had come temporarily to Northern Louisiana following Katrina and were now returning to the same location to escape Madden.

"I hadn't realised it was quite as bad as that." I sat and pondered my next move. "I hope that I can trust you, Rasul?" I raised an eyebrow at him awaiting his response.

"Honestly Eric, I'd have staked the bastard months ago if I could have gotten away with it. Things were better under Sophie-Anne and I don't want to have to keep on watching my back. Everyone is on edge in New Orleans as it seems Madden will blow at any point. You can trust me, I can assure you of that. There are whispers amongst those not loyal to de Castro and Madden that you will take the state back. I hope those rumours are true?"

I knew that such rumours were going around, it was one of the reasons that de Castro had been watching me so stringently these last few weeks since returning from the Fae war. It does, however, make me all the more surprised he did not stake me when he had the chance. I think he thought that to be too easy. He would rather make a spectacle out of me and do it on his own turf for a bigger crime than risking my neck to save a human he had given his own protection to (even if she was my bonded).

"I can't give you details, but its certainly something I've been thinking about. I've had conversations with other kings and queens, especially as I have no interest in keeping Nevada."

Rasul grinned a toothy smile as he took that piece of information in. "I imagine that would certainly put a few monarchs on your side, one in particular!" It was certainly well known that Mariana Serafim, the Queen of California, had eyes on de Castro, and she'd nearly taken the state at least twice before, though had not made any attempt for the past fifty years. I knew her to be impatient with de Castro who had recently refused her offer of marriage to link the neighbouring states. He probably rightly knew that she would kill him if they were alone in the same room together.

"I'm sure I can advise you that I have had a few emails from the Queen recently."

"So what happens next? And how does your delicious fairy fit into this?" I was aware that Rasul had always had a fondness for Sookie, but he knew well enough to keep his distance from my bonded.

"I fear that de Castro will try and do something stupid. He covets Sookie and her abilities and he thinks that he will be able to usurp the bond I have with her. He thinks that she will be his pet, he does not know my girl too well."

I knew perfectly well that even if Sookie was taken by de Castro, if he killed me she would go out of her way to kill him. De Castro did not know that she could not be glamoured, and does not heel as a vampire would expect. "I do not know what he is planning, but I have people within Nevada who pass me information as they find it. I know that I will have to be on guard, and I do not plan on letting Sookie out of my sight until this has blown over, when ever that will be. I am considering hiring her a bodyguard or two." I knew Sookie would not be too keen on that, but it was becoming more important that she be kept safe. I could not have her going out of the house without protection, and it had angered me that my guards had allowed her to leave to go to Bon Temps without a guard earlier on in the week. Needless to say those guards had been replaced.

"Well, Eric, I will keep you informed of the goings on in New Orleans and email you Madden's schedule as soon as it is known. Send my regards to your Bonded." Rasul got up to leave and I -showed him to the door. I was not going to be telling Sookie about my visit with him. I would not lie to Sookie if she asked, but I needed to keep the truth of the situation from her if possible. I did not want her to be worried about the precarious position we were both in. I was also not sure of her reaction of my plans to become King, and I doubted very much she would like the level of attention and fame that came with being a monarch, particularly one of my stature.

A lot had changed over the last few weeks, before this I never had any illusions on becoming king. But I had realised that after being tortured by de Castro following my return with Sookie that something needed to be done. My survival relied on me now being king, however I knew that in turn this would also make me more vulnerable. And if I had a human wife, she would be as much in the firing line as I were. The sooner we were bound the better.

After Rasul left I met very briefly with the man from the Clerk's office and signed the papers I needed so that we may marry on the following Saturday. I then met with my tailor who was to make me a new suit for the wedding in a silver grey colour that had the slightest hint of blue. I was to wear it with a crisp white shirt and light blue tie. I planned on looking my best for my fairy, and could not wait to see what dress the daemons would dress her in. I knew Pam would take Sookie to meet Carolyn who was well known in the supe community at being able to make dreams come true. She would not do this for personal gain, but something such as the dream wedding dress was just up her alley. She had made quite a profitable business from knowing exactly what women wanted.

After more meetings with vampires looking to move to my area, I finished my business at Fangtasia and decided to make a fleeting visit to Bon Temps. I did not know where Jason Stackhouse lived, but was fairly certain that I could track his scent considering his relationship to Sookie. After flying over the town I sound found his place on the edge of the woods at the opposite end of the town to wear Sookie used to live. I touched down on the porch and knock on the door. I hear a noise within the house and hear him making his way down the stairs, cursing that someone had woken him up at that hour of the morning.

As soon as he opened the door and met my eyes I had him in my glamour and he invited me into his home. As we sat down I released him and he started shouting at me, luckily he wasn't smart enough to rescind my invitation. I stood up and pushed him against the wall, my hand around his jaw. He was still trying to argue with me.

"Shut up and listen to me. I am Eric Northman, and I am marrying Sookie on Saturday and you will not cause any trouble. You will not try and contact her again. And if you make her upset again I assure you we will not be having his conversation, rather you will need to make an appointment with a coroner." He has gone pale, but he was trembling with anger. I put him back down on the floor and turned to make my leave. I could hear him trying to snap off a wooden chair leg, and before he had even made one attempt to break off the chair leg I had thrown him across the room. The boy was more stupid that I thought.

I stood over him and pulled him back up against the wall, we winced from the pain of his landing. "I repeat. Stay away from my wife, I would kill you now I if I knew it would not upset Sookie to lose the only remaining person in her family, even if you are worthless. If I hear of you causing any kind of trouble I will not hesitate to end your measly pathetic existence." I threw him back across the room and stepped on him as I exited the room, hearing the crunch of bones as I did so. He would not bother Sookie if he knew what was best for him.

After checking in on Compton to make sure his healing was going as expected, I flew back to Fangtasia and then drove my new purchase back to our home. I had missed being with Sookie, and when in Bon Temps the distance felt like a constant tug on our bond. I did not enjoy being so far from her, I needed her as she needed me.

I parked the car and walked into the house. I could tell that Sookie was asleep and as I was going to be with her my child met me in the hallway. She did not seem happy and it was evident she had something on her mind. I let her speak.

"Sookie told me that you're planning to meet the sun when she dies, is this true?" I was surprised that Sookie had shared this information with my child, but imagined that Sookie had asked her to convince me otherwise. Pam's eyes were intent on mine, almost pleading for me to deny that was my plan, that I was saying that to Sookie to convince her she should become vampire. Pam should know better than to think I could or would lie to my bonded about something so serious.

"Pamela, my child, I will not be able to go on after Sookie passed. I fear that it would be a physical impossibility for me to go one one more night without her. She is my all, Pam."

Her eyes were brimming with pink and she looked defeated. Never in the years that I had been with my child had anything invoked such an emotional response from her. I placed my hands on either side of her face and drew her to me, gently placing a kiss on her head. "Pam, neither Sookie or I have any intention of dying any time soon."

"But what about me, do I not matter any more? Have you replaced me with her?" This really was against character for Pam, she was normally so cold and unfeeling. She had lived many years on her own, she never had before shown any kind of dependency on me, even as as a newly made vampire.

"Pamela, she is my bonded and my wife, and soon we will be wed by human tradition and we will become bound to each other. I am not replacing you. You are the only child I have and I respect and love you. But she is my first concern now. I must put her first. My love for her will not allow me to do anything else. I fear Pam, that maybe you are too attached to me. Have you considered your own child? You would make an excellent maker, I have taught you well."

She was quiet for a few minutes pondering over what I had told her. "Master, it is something I have considered, but before I always assumed you would not want me to do it. Now you have Sookie, it does seem like an idea. I will think on it, I am yet to meet anyone, other than the witch, that can hold my interest."

She paused, but I could tell she was not done with the matter. I listened to my bonded's gentle, steady breathing from the den and craved her touch. I would not stop myself taking a step in her direction, when Pam pulled me back and I turned to her.

"Master ... she told me that she will not even consider becoming vampire. Is it not wrong that she is unwilling to become undead when you would be ending your thousand years for her? You should turn her now and this will not be a problem."

I was livid. I growled at my child and grabbed her arm causing her to squirm under my grip. "You will not tell me what to do when it concerns Sookie. You will not ever tell me what to do. It is her choice and I will not force her."

"But Master..."

"No Pamela, I will not speak further on this matter. If you raise this again with anyone you will not be welcome in this state. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir."

I could feel that Sookie had awoken towards the end of our exchange and I left Pam in the corridor as a single tear fell down her face which was quickly wiped away. I went in and kissed Sookie with a gentle kiss. I felt whole again having her in my arms as I carried her downstairs. As I passed Pam in the hallway I mentally told her to go home and we would talk about this further at a later time. I took Sookie into the bedroom and undressed her, she was still very tired so I allowed her to fall asleep in my arms.

I spent the rest of the night thinking of the nights events. The simple fact was that I agreed with Pam regarding Sookie's unwilling to be vampire. She was being selfish, but I also understood her reasons for not being vampire. She would spend the rest of her life with me, as I would mine. That would not change whether she was vampire or not. All it meant was that I had to look after Sookie as best as I could. And to do that I needed to solve the problem with de Castro.

I awoke the next morning with a level of anxiety. Sookie was not with me, obviously still with the elf Anja. I did not like relying on others, particularly for such an important trip as the one Anja would be going on. I did not know how she could reach Niall considering the portals were closed, but I had encountered elves before and knew them to be very powerful, even more so than the fairies, and one of the royal bloodline would be a very powerful ally to have.

After around ten minutes Sookie came back downstairs and informed me that Anja had agreed to take my letter to Niall. I was relived and we slipped into play mode. However she was having her fun tonight, and seemed to enjoy torturing me, bringing me close to release and then backing off. Of course I could have handled anything Sookie handed out, but I played her game and flew her upstairs to the games room. I'd had fantasies of having Sookie on the snooker table, and that was my chance. I exacted the same revenge on her and before long we were both playing with each other. I was rougher with her than normal, but she seemed to enjoy it and I made sure she was healed afterwards.

After bathing we waited for Anja to arrive. Sookie again fell asleep in my arms while we watched an awful vampire movie, and as the hours went on I began to get increasingly impatient until I heard the unmistakeable sound of someone teleporting onto my porch. I shot to the door holding Sookie behind me until she confirmed the beautiful woman in front of me was indeed Anja. I was surprised when I heard Sookie run back downstairs, but I did not question her motives when she came back into the room with the drinks we had requested.

I was truly astounded by what Niall's letter had to say regarding the love bond, and I was pleased I had trusted my instincts in factoring in Sookie's magic when we confirmed the bond. The elf had done us a great service in seeking out Niall for us, and her own story struck a cord with me, that she would give up her immortality to be with her human lover. Would I do the same with Sookie? I knew that I would. I would do anything for her, she was my all, my everything, she was the light to my darkness.

However Sookie had always made in clear that she was not keen on giving up her humanity to be vampire, and it was something that always irked me, even more so now. I had always hoped that she would come around and I was willing to be patient with her. I hoped that even though she may not age thanks to my blood infusions, in seeing her friends age she would realise that she should become vampire. But now in finding that if we go ahead with the love bond she will not be able to be vampire I am in turmoil. If we do the bond, de Castro will know instantly, as will any vampire, that we are bound to each other irreversibly. He would know that he cannot split us. But it would leave us open to attack. Sookie would be a liability.

I have never felt so frustrated and confused in my long life. I always know the right thing to do and trusted my instincts, yet I genuinely did not know what to do here. And Sookie has as much say in this as I do. Sharing this kind of decision with another will take getting used to, but she is my all and I formed the last bond without her consent. I was not going to do that again, I love her too much for that.

The simple fact was that the bullet is sounding the better option, and some of the advantages of the love bond may well happen over time anyway. The problem is, of course, that the bond would be less obvious, vampires may still try and take her from me, de Castro being the major problem.

When Anja left that night it was getting close to dawn so we both went downstairs, undressed each other and turned in for the night. I could not believe that she had kept that bullet all this time. I wanted to hug her so tightly to thank her that we had another option, but as I did not know her thoughts on the second option I remained as calm as I could and thanked her.

We awoke the next morning in much the same position as we were when we went to sleep. Sookie was obviously too exhausted to toss and turn, and waking up to her sleeping next to me was truly heavenly. I gently placed my hand on her hip and softly stroked her skin as I considered what to say to my bonded. I had to be honest with her, and hoped that she wanted the same, that she thought the love bond was too extreme an option. I knew that Sookie liked to have choices, that she would not want to do something that completely eliminated the possibility of her becoming vampire. I hoped this was the case anyway.

I had slipped into downtime when Sookie stirred and opened her beautiful blue eyes, staring deeply into my own. "Morning, my love," I kissed her on the nose as she pulled her warm body closer to mine. "Did you sleep well? It looks like you may have out slept me today! I love seeing you sleep next to me."

"I love being here next to you. Will you join me in the bath, I feel we have a lot to discuss and I want to be in a relaxing place to do so." I nodded then shot out of bed to prepare the bathroom. I all the candles in the room to create a soft glow and poured some sandalwood oil into the hot tub. As I was finishing the room she walked in, still naked, and came over to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. I lifted her into the tub and after we had satisfied each other, she took my hands in hers and turned and faced me.

"Eric, would you mind if I speak first. I need to say this, please." I nodded for her to continue. I felt anxiety and worry within the bond and tried to suppress my own feelings that were reflecting hers. We needed to talk this through, but we both needed to state our case first.

"I love you Eric, and I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I understand that you are vampire, and will live much longer than me, and before you say anything I know you have told me that you would meet the sun if I died, but you need to know that that is the last thing I would want you to do. You are too important to me for to be able to handle your death.

"When you were reading Niall's letter I was thrilled. The thought that your blood would keep me young, and I would be able to use your strength – that was incredible. And much as I like not being able to hear vampires, you are the one vampire I would like to share thoughts with. You already are my husband, you are my life. I have already made the decision that I do not want to become vampire and I understand how hard that is for you. You must think me selfish that I would not want to join you, but I cannot even contemplate being undead – it is not who I am. But what Niall said about never being able to be vampire? That's not what I want either. I don't want to not have that option if I ever changed my mind. I'm not so stubborn as to know that just because I don't want to be vampire now, it doesn't mean I won't want it in fifty or a hundred years time.

"And then there's what he said about you dying the instant I died. Eric, I can't have that." Tears were pouring from her eyes and she was starting to sob. It was taking all of my self control to not give into her grief. "I'm sure that Pam has told you what I asked of her, and you must promise you will live on. And what would happen if anyone found out about the strength of our bond? All de Castro or someone would have to do is kill me, and you'd be dead. I cannot have that, and I will not be a danger to you. Eric, I'm sorry, but I don't think I can go ahead with the love bond."

She looked down into the water and buried her head in her hands, her body convulsing from the sobs that were rocking through her. I could not hold back my own emotions and found an ice cold tear trickling down my face. I closed the gap between us, wrapped my arms around her and pushed my feelings of love and comfort to her. After she calmed and her breathing returned to normal I let her out of my grip and took her beautiful face in my hands.

"Sookie, I would die for you. I love you more than I thought possible, but I agree with you that we both be targets if anyone ever found out the tightness of our bond. I could not have anyone attack you to get to me, though even if we do not go ahead with the bond it is still a possibility. I understand your reasons for not wanting to be vampire, and I will support your wishes. You know that I will not change you without your consent, and I would not ask anyone else to do it. But to know that you would not have that option, that I would find hard. I've always hoped that one day you may change your mind, you can allow me that can't you?"

She was smiling, and I rested my forehead against hers. "Sookie, I too had come to the conclusion that the love bond was now not the best option for us. Especially as there now is another option. I am so thankful that you kept that bullet, it truly astounds me. Why did you keep it? Did you feel some deeper connection even when you were doing anything you could to stay away from me?" I smirked at her and she rolled her eyes, humour returning to her eyes as she did so.

"I honestly couldn't tell you why I did it. But I kept it safe and hidden all these years, maybe I did sense some connection to you. I have wondered what would have happened if I had yielded to you earlier, what position we would be in if I had chosen you over Bill, given my virginity to you." She was looking at me with tender eyes. I too had had those thoughts and wishes, would we be better off then we are now? I could not believe that I could love her any more than I already did, and have not the events we've been through moulded the relationship we have now?

"And what of the bullet now, would you want to perform that bond with me?" My anxiety had crept back up as I awaited her response.

She answered me with a simple, "Yes."

I think my mouth may have opened when she said that as she used it as an opportunity to place a passionate kiss on my open lips.

She continued, "You've thanked me for keeping that bullet, but its down to you that we have this option. You loved me then, even though I rejected you, pushed you away, you loved me. And it is your love that will tie us together. I want to do this, and I want to do it tonight. I cannot wait any longer Eric."

The strength of the love that was bouncing between us through the bond was truly astounding. I could not believe that my angel wanted to do this with me, that she was willing to make this commitment, both tonight by the bullet and our wedding on Saturday. I was the happiest at that moment than I had ever been. As we kissed each other I could feel it intensifying, and we both understood that now was the time to do it.

I reluctantly left Sookie in the bath and flew to her night stand to pick up the bullet wrapped in the cloth, and went to my office to retrieve an ancient gold goblet we would use. The goblet was older than I, and seemed more appropriate to use than a glass or cup. As I was leaving my office I spotted the ceremonial knife I had used in Rhodes still in its box, the knife that had married us by vampire law. As we both had to combine our bloods in the goblet it would be easiest to use the knife. And the significance of this knife seemed to intensifying the bonding.

I sped back into the bathroom and placed the objects of the side of the bath. I sat on the step inside the tub and saw that Sookie was watching me intensely as unwrapped the bullet and let it fall into the goblet. I took out the knife from its box Sookie grinned at me.

"I recognise that knife, have I seen it before?" She smirked at me, raising her eyebrow as she said so.

"I believe you may have my love." I winked at her as she moved closer to me. I was surprised when she straddled me and reached to position herself and lowered onto my painfully hard dick. She had just made this bonding even more intense. We both groaned with the contact, but were more at peace having this physical contact.

With the knife I made a quick incision into my wrist and allowed the blood to drip into the goblet. Sookie was watching me intently and as soon as my wrist had finished bleeding she offered her own, to which I did the same. After licking her wrist to seal her wound I swilled the cup to combine our bloods with the magic of the bullet and offered her the goblet first. She took a mouthful and sighed in contentment as she tasted our combined bloods. The love that was flowing from her was impalpable. When she had finished she handed me the goblet and I too took a mouthful.

It was incredibly rich, thick and sweet, with her fairy essence and the underlying taste of iron from her oxygen rich blood. As soon as I placed the goblet back on the bath edge Sookie started to move and I could feel the magic swirling around us. I was drawn to her essence, I could feel her as well as I could myself. We were truly connected in that moment. I was high on the love we shared and knew I was close to my peak so reached between us and started rubbing her nub.

"Come with me Sookie, I love you."

"I love you, Eric."

We both came hard and the magic swirled around, flowing from one to the other in an ever reaching circle. Not withdrawing from her I picked up the still half full cup and again offered it to Sookie who drank and then I finished the remaining blood, leaving the bullet alone in the bottom of the goblet. I wanted nothing more than to drink more of her beautiful blood, and sensed that she wanted mine. I bit into her shoulder as she did mine, and I knew as soon as we drank from each other that the magic was sealed. We were tied to each other, and I felt slightly different. I knew now that Sookie would always be with me, not just the faint pull of her that I felt before, but I would carry her essence with me. We were truly part of each other.

As we got out of the tub and relocated to the bedroom, I suspected that the bond we had just formed was stronger than even Niall had anticipated. Whether it was down to the knife, the fact that we were making love while we drank from the goblet or the mutual blood exchange afterwards, I did not know. Maybe it was all three.

We spent the rest of the night becoming truly acquainted with each others bodies. We relocated after a while to the upstairs of the house and made love on Pam's bed. I made sure that she ate, and we spent much of the night talking, but never wanting to be away from the other. I craved her touch as she seemed to crave mine, and we both understood that we could never be apart.

I was slightly concerned that we were much tighter bound than anyone had anticipated, but only time would tell on that one. She stayed up with me until dawn was approaching and we then retired, happy and complete.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sookie**

When I awoke the next morning I could swear that I was glowing. I felt on a high, I could feel Eric's magical life force within me and the love I had for my Viking vampire was insatiable. I rolled over in bed to study his beautiful handsome face and placed a hand on chest and a chaste kiss on his shoulder. Sparks seemed to fly the second I touched him, and I drew back, shocked by what had happened. When I touched him again the same thing happened, but I left my hand in place and absorbed the power of our touch. We felt as one, that we completed each other, that our love for each other would last and drive us forward as long as we both shall live.

It was around two in the afternoon, but I did not want to leave the bed. There was nowhere I would rather be than curled up beside my vampire. However my human needs meant that I needed to go to the bathroom and my stomach had informed me that I was starving hungry. I did my business, showered and brushed my teeth before changing and heading upstairs to the kitchen. I was reluctant to leave my man, and I could physically feel the distance between us. I think we had both realised that we were bound much more closely that anticipated, and I wondered what effects, if any, of the love bond would happen. I was interested to know whether we could hear each others thoughts, whether he could send his strength to me, or whether other vampires would be able to tell that we were as tightly bound as we were.

After grabbing a quick breakfast of smoked salmon and cheese muffins I set about finalising the arrangements for tomorrow's wedding. I phoned the clerk's office who confirmed that all was set for our wedding at 9pm the following night. As I wandered around the house I saw that a card had been posted through the door, and saw that it regarded the flowers I had ordered. When I opened the front door I saw my order sat on the porch. They were perfect and exactly what I had hoped for. The orchid arrangements were in soft pinks and purples with green foliage and the flowers were cascading from the bouquets. I took the bouquets for Pam, Amelia and I upstairs to the room next to Pam's that I had decided would be mine to get ready in since Eric could not see me while I dressed. I hadn't told him yet, but I was planning on sleeping in this room tonight as well, even though once dawn came he would be dead to the world.

I left the buttonholes for Bill and Eric and the few bouquets for the house in the hallway, and carried the remaining flowers down to the cottage. I was amazed when I reached the cottage. In the clearing in front a small gazebo had been erected, and a few chairs and tables had been put up for the food and drinks that Eric had arranged. There was soft fabric in the trees creating a shelter, and there seemed to be even more lights down here, along with many large candles. There was an area within the gazebo that had obviously been set up for the ceremony itself, with rich luscious carpet covering the floor.

I found a stray tear trickling down my cheek as I thought about what Eric had done down here. I had no idea he'd even thought about this, and my heart was filled with love and joy for him. I found a few places to put the flowers, and took some inside the cottage, which had also been filled with candles and soft furnishings. I insanely grinned to myself as I took one last look at the cottage area and headed back up to the main house. I was excited to see Amelia again and was positively giddy at the thought of marrying Eric the next day.

Missing his company, I let myself back downstairs into our bedroom, stripped of all my clothes and curled up in bed beside Eric, my arm and leg resting over his as I breathed in his manly, earthy scent. I think I may have fallen asleep as when I awoke Eric had shifted position slightly and had his hand resting on the top of my thigh. I murmured incoherent words into his shoulder and felt him gently kiss my head. I snuggled into his side further and ran my hand to his gracious plenty, which was ready and waiting for my touch. I sat up and smirked at him.

"Are you always ready for _that_ in the morning?" His sapphire eyes were blazing into mine and the lust emanating from us was intense.

"When I wake up to you my goddess I could be no other way."

He pulled me back down on top of him so that my whole body was on top of his firm one. He gently scratched my back, which elicited a moan from me, and I started to kiss his neck and collar bone, scraping my blunt teeth along his perfect skin. Within a millisecond he had flipped us so that he was on top, and he brought a large hand between so see if I was ready for him. As usual, I was, and it seemed even more so than usual going by the response from my vampire.

He positioned himself at my entrance and slowly pushed into me at a painstaking pace, filling me completely. And complete was what I felt, it was like we belonged together, that in the act of making love we were finally whole. He slowly began thrusting into me as I met every stroke with a raise of my hips. I could not keep my hands off him, and was trying to touch all of the skin that I could. Eric was kissing, licking and nibbling down my neck to my aching breasts, and gently punctured one of my nipples with his fang. I cried out his name with the shock of the sensation, and within seconds I reached my climax. Eric began to speed up his thrusts as I dug my fingers into his shoulders to hold on. Eric reached his own peak with an almighty roar and bit down into my breast, causing me to come again.

As I panted beneath him trying to recover my sanity I realised that I had dug my nails into his back so hard that I had drawn blood. I brought my fingers to my mouth and licked each one individually in a seductive manor as Eric watched me, cocking an eyebrow at my obvious pleasure in tasting his blood. It had always tasted sweet, but I found that it now somehow tasted even better to me. Once I had licked off his blood from my fingers I pulled his head down to mine and pulled him into a deep and passionate kiss. We stayed in that position for what felt like hours, kissing and becoming even more familiar with each other's bodies. After he had bitten me again, this time from my femoral artery, Eric showered and we headed upstairs so I could grab a bit to eat, both only clad in our pyjamas.

We relocated to the den and once Eric had lit the fire curled up together on the love-seat and stared into the flames.

"Sookie, I want to thank you for last night. That was the single most fantastic night I have had – and there have been quite a few – but the love and magic I felt from you was incredible. It was intense, like nothing I have ever experienced before. My love, I believe now that we are truly fated to be together, and that everything we have been through together have led us to the events of last night."

He pulled me to him and kissed me as I contemplated his words. I felt exactly the same way as he did, and the intensity of our newly formed bond allowed me to know exactly what Eric was feeling. I had not heard any thoughts from him since he woke that evening, so decided to try and see if I could hear his thoughts. I lowered my shields completely and allowed myself to become consumed by the bond we shared. I could hear a faint hum from him, but then, sensing what I was trying to do, Eric allowed me access to his thoughts. I got mostly images from him, many of me and I felt beautiful knowing the way that this ancient man saw me. The images were punctuated with words, many of them not in the English language, but when Eric thought at me I could understand his words as loud as when we was speaking to me. Experimenting further I tried to push my thoughts towards him, and from the slight gasp and feeling of surprise from him I knew I was successful in my endeavour. I tried to show him the way I saw him, how beautiful he was to me. I thought back to our first shower together, and before that when I inadvertently walked in on him changing. He somehow seemed to smirk at me within my head, and I projected the words 'I love you' to him as he came back with 'I love you more'.

It was certainly tiring doing this, but as we practised more we were able to project our thoughts to each other. My telepathy didn't seem to work like it did with humans as we both had to be receptive to our thoughts being open to the other, and as we experimented we increased the distance between us, with it working as clear as ever when Eric was downstairs and I was in one of the guest bedrooms upstairs. It was certainly a new trick to have.

As I made my way back down to the bedroom to join my vampire, I found him in the tub with a champagne glass of blood in his hand and a wicked grin on his face. He poured me a glass of champagne as I joined him in the bath.

"Well, by this time tomorrow we will be man and wife, are you prepared to be the human wife of the best looking vampire in the state?"

He was smirking at me with a knowing grin on his face. I could hardly deny that. "Of course, my dear, and needless to say most powerful as well." His face darkened and I could tell he was troubled. "What did I say wrong, am I not right in saying that?" I was confused by his sudden change in mood.

"Sookie, you are most certainly right in your assumption, but it also means that we are likely to be targeted. De Castro is not happy with the power I have in this state following Sophie-Anne's demise and he is watching my back closely at present. I have not heard too much from him recently other than the routine filing of my reports, but I know now that he wishes he had killed me along with the other Louisiana sheriffs that night."

I was starting to panic and my heart was breaking into a thousand pieces, the thought of where I would be if Eric had been killed by Victor Madden that night was too much to bare. I would no doubt have been captured by de Castro and no doubt bonded to him. He would not have allowed me my freedom in the way Eric had, and I certainly was not capable of loving him. A sob escaped my lips.

"Sookie, my love, do not fret. I will not allow anything to happen to any one of us, I can assure you of that. I have known that this is coming and have made plans accordingly."

I was shocked, this was certainly news to me. "What do you mean, do you plan of killing de Castro? Will you become King" I could not imagine Eric as King, he was normally so casual and laid back (for a vampire), and I knew that although he enjoyed the power of being a sheriff he was not interested in the bureaucracy that went with being a monarch.

"I do not personally intend on killing him, but there are others that do. Sookie, please do not worry yourself with this, I have vampires in all camps that are loyal to me and it does not seem that he is any danger to us at present. I have never wanted to be a king, but if its something I have to do to keep you safe then I am willing to do so. And I could not imagine a more beautiful queen that you, my goddess."

"But I'm human, how could I be a queen of the vampires, that's ridiculous!"

"Sookie, you would be my queen, it would not matter that you were human. And you have to say the AVL would love it, we would be the forerunners for vampire / human relations. Sookie, please do not worry about this. I do not believe that we could find each other now and lose each other. I will not allow that to happen."

I downed my drink needing the alcohol to calm my frayed nerves. Eric poured me another which I made a serious dent on. The thought of being queen was crazy, but I believed that Eric did not really want to be king and would only do it if necessary. I hoped for all I was worth that someone other than Eric would be expected to take on de Castro. I just wanted to live quietly with my vampire in my home state.

Eric wrapped his strong arms around me and held me in his grip. He flooded me with calm and love and I felt at peace within his embrace. After I had won the battle against my emotions I snuggled back against Eric and shifted my position so that I was facing him again.

"I went down to the cottage this afternoon, Eric, its beautiful, thank you for organising that. I have no idea how you did that, but thank you." He grinned at me and kissed me on the nose.

"I'm glad you liked it, though I would have preferred it that you did not see it until tomorrow. Why did you go down there my tricky little fairy?"

I laughed at his name calling. "Well, the flowers I had ordered online arrived today, so I took some down there. It really is perfect. It will be the most perfect wedding I could have imagined. I'm looking forward to tomorrow like no other. However its starting to get late, and I should go to bed."

He frowned at me. "Lover, we have plenty of time until dawn, we do not need to go to bed just yet." He started kissing my neck, grazing his fangs along my pulsing artery causing me to moan into him and grind myself against him.

"No Eric, it is the night before my wedding, I will be spending it upstairs, I will not be sleeping with you tonight. I am sorry, but the answer is no." I tried to be firm, but his kissing was making this very hard.

"My love, you do not need to hold up antique human traditions with me. I want you in my bed as I go to sleep. I want you tomorrow morning. I will not be able to concentrate tomorrow if I had not had you when I wake up. Sookie, it is cruel of you to do that to me." He succeeded in taking me again in the bath, but I was determined to hold my ground on this one.

As we dried and went back into the bedroom I walked to the closet and grabbed a bag, starting to pack my things for my time away from Eric. I needed clothes for tomorrow along with my make-up and hair things. When I walked back into the bedroom Eric was laid out on the bed in a pose very similar to his Mr January pose, and hit me with a wave of lust that almost knocked me off my feet. He looked stunning, and it was taking all of my self-will to not jump him then and there. I smiled a sweet smile and walked up to him kissing him on the forehead and then walked to the door, stopping to look back at him when his lust turned to sulkiness. He was pouting at me.

"Eric, you know how much I love you, how much I want you, but we get married tomorrow, and I am determined to do something by tradition. Its only a few hours before dawn, you do not have long to wait, and when you wake tomorrow you have to get ready to marry me. I will be upstairs with Pam and Amelia, so please join Bill and head down to the cottage to wait for the registrar. I love you, Eric. I will see you tomorrow at the alter." I smiled at him, filling him with love.

"As I love you, my wife."

I turned and walked upstairs with a heavy heart. I missed not being with him, and was desperate to curl up in his strong arms, however was determined to be strong. When I got upstairs to the room I put my hair and make up on the dressing table and climbed into the large bed. It felt very lonely being in here without Eric. As I was drifting off to sleep I heard Eric's voice in my mind wishing me good night, and I relayed the sentiment to him.

I awoke the next morning and automatically rolled over to the position where Eric would be, yet I was alone. I panicked at first but then came the happy realisation that Eric was safe downstairs and I was get married today. I was incredibly tempted to go down to see Eric, but realised that would not be fair considering I had not allowed him to watch me sleeping the night before. I looked at the time on my phone and saw that it was already one in the afternoon.

I quickly pulled myself out of bed and jumped into the shower and then threw on a pair of jeans and t-shirt. Amelia was due at two so I didn't have long to get ready and grab some breakfast. I was too nervous to eat much, but desperately needed the caffeine of coffee to get me going. I had a bagel with some creamed cheese and managed a bit of fruit before my nerves got the better of me. As I was washing my few dishes I heard a knock at the door and ran towards the hallway to greet my friend.

I threw open the door and pulled Amelia to me for a hug. "Amelia, it's so good to see you, thank you so much for coming."

"Sook, I wouldn't miss this for the world. This is your day, and I've really missed you. I'm sorry I skipped town on you, I just couldn't deal with staying here at that time, too many things reminded me of Tray. I'm better now, it still hurts and I miss him, but I don't blame you. I'm sorry Sookie."

I pulled her back to me for a hug and we were both crying. "I'm so sorry too. I feel like it was my fault, it was my fairy relations that caused all this. I'm sorry."

"I just told you its not your fault. Believe me when I say that I don't blame you. Seriously. Now, you have a wedding dress to show me, is there anything I can do for you?"

"No, its pretty much sorted actually, guess that's what happens when there are only five people in total at the wedding! You should see what Eric's arranged at the cottage, its beautiful. But first let me show you to your room and around the rest of the house."

I led her upstairs to one of the more femininely decorated rooms and she unpacked her belongings, then showed her around the rest of the house, but not giving any indication of where Eric slept. Although I trusted her implicitly I did not want to give away that information if possible. She seemed to love the house as much as I did. I made her a quick lunch and we then headed outside to the pool area, and I then led her down the path through the trees that led to the tiny cottage in the trees.

"Oh, Sookie, this place is beautiful, did he build this for you or was it here before?"

I smiled. "He built it for me after we first met. I guess he always knew that we would end up together. It was down here that he proposed to me. It was perfect, so romantic. Amelia. I love him so much. He is my world. I need to tell you something, and you have to promise me you won't tell anyone."

"Okay, what it is it?" We went inside the cottage and sat on sofa.

I recounted the story of meeting Anja and what she told us about the options we had to bond to each other. Amelia agreed that the bullet seemed the better option, so was thrilled when I told her that we had done it.

"Wow, so your truly bound to each other. I can't wait to see you guys together, to see if there seems any difference."

"Do you think there will be?" I was intrigued, would she be able to tell we were bound to each other, would others? Other vampires?

"Maybe, do you feel any different? Its a very strong magic that you two have invoked, a very ancient magic. It is likely to make the two of you very powerful together."

"We've been able to project our thoughts to each other since we did the bond. And I do feel a pull towards him. I don't feel complete unless I'm touching him, I feel the need to be near him constantly, and it almost physically hurts to be away from him."

She looked at me thoughtfully. "I think that you will find that the connection between the two of you will get stronger over time as the magic between you grows, fuelled by your continued blood exchange. Its likely you two will be very powerful."

As I thought about what she had said we went back up to the house and caught up further. She told me of the business she has started with her dad and the freelance witch work she was doing. I asked her whether she'd be willing to put a stasis spell on my house in Bon Temps once she had completed the wards on this house, and she agreed to do it.

We were upstairs, and not long after dark Pam arrived and the two girls started to get me ready, treating me like a doll primping and preening me into something respectable. Pam did a great job on my hair and make up and as I thought about the coming events it took all my will power to not burst into tears at the thought of what was coming. Pam had threatened me with all sorts of pain and torture if I were to ruin the make up she had painstakingly created, and I had a feeling that she really wasn't joking.

I had been able to tell the instant that Eric had woken up and he hit me with a wave of lust and started sending me his sex filled thoughts. I was sat with Amelia who gave me an odd look as I had a conversation with Eric in my mind. He was trying to distract me, and I told him off, telling him that I would meet him at the alter and would not speak to him further. I set my shields up to their maximum, and although I felt Eric probing the bond my shields held and he eventually gave up.

I heard Bill arrive and him and Eric left the main house for me to get dressed and headed down to the cottage. I wondered what the two of them were talking about. My ex-boyfriend and my bonded discussing my marriage – I hoped that Eric was not being too cruel. Bill had been through a lot, and we both owed him for rescuing me from Lochlan and Neave when Eric was unable. I hoped that we could all be friends, and that Eric had come around to respecting Bill, as best as he could anyway.

As Pam and Amelia got me ready I was getting increasingly nervous and excited. Once I was dressed I turned to the girls. It was Amelia who spoke first, her eyes prickling with tears as she looked at me.

"Sookie, you look incredible. I just hope that Eric is going to be able to keep his hands off you long enough to get through the ceremony."

"I doubt that very much – those two are like rabbits! I'd be amazed if they can last through the ceremony without jumping each other!" Pam cocked her eyebrow at me and we all burst out laughing.

"To be honest, I can't wait to see him as well. He always did look incredible in a suit. And I must say, that you two also look beautiful. We're three smoking hot ladies!" Pam was wearing a pale pink knee-length dress with matching pumps, her hair lightly curled. Amelia had a light blue full-length gown on with a darker blue sash around the waist. They both did look incredible, and somehow truly complimented the dream dress I was wearing. When the registrar arrived Pam met with him and led him to the cottage, leaving Amelia and I in the room for the remaining fifteen minutes until I was due to marry my vampire.

"Amelia," I shrieked, "I'm marrying Eric. I'm about to marry Eric freaking Northman! This I crazy, I don't believe I could be so lucky. How does a crazy barmaid from a backwards Northern Louisiana town end up marrying a god like him?" I was truly amazed that I could be so lucky. I was desperate to see him and really missed not spending time with him.

"Sook, you shouldn't put yourself down. You deserve him, you both deserve to be happy. He has waited a long time to find you. He's always loved you, even when you fought so hard against him. He's the one for you, and now is your time." She pulled me into a hug and a tear escaped my eyes.

"Pam's going to kill me!"

I grabbed a tissue to mop up the tear and after checking the time we both made our slow journey to the cottage where my future husband was waiting for me. As we entered the edge of the woods I heard the music start, it was an acoustic version of Foo Fighters song Everlong, one of my favourite songs and something very fitting for the occasion.

I walked down the candle lit path to my future. I registered that Pam and Bill were both there, but my eyes went straight to Eric. He looked breathtaking, wearing a silver, grey suit, white shirt and blue tie that made his eyes look even more blue than normal. His hair was tied back in a simple tail, although a few strands had escaped forward framing his handsome face. My eyes met his and the look of love was incredible. I fully lifted my shields to him and the surge of emotion from him almost stopped me in my tracks. I had never felt such love in my life. As I reached him I turned and stared deep into his eyes, smiling and doing my best to keep my breathing at a steady rate. My heart was doing back flips within my rib cage. When I held his hand the sparks seemed to fly between us, and I could feel his touch all though my body.

We recited our vows, and I truly meant every word. Once we'd exchanged rings and signed the register it was Bill who acted as our official photographer, though he seemed to be enjoying playing with the state of art digital camera. He always was a sucker for technology.

We were congratulated by Pam, Bill and Amelia, who had cried throughout the ceremony and had to be comforted by a disturbed looking Pam. She never knew how to deal with crying, but was doing a reasonable job with Amelia.

We socialised with our guests and I had a bite to eat and a glass of wine, but before long the others left us alone for a while, leaving Eric and I stood underneath the canopy of the trees lit only by candle light. He was holding me tight against him and we swayed together to the gentle music coming from a hidden stereo somewhere. We were both flooding the other with all the emotion we felt, and I was fairly confident that my heart was going to burst from my chest at any moment. It was Eric that broke the silence as he took a step back from me and ran his eyes up and down my body.

"Sookie, my wife, you look exquisite. Beautiful. I could not be a happier vampire right now. I love you with all that I am, and I thank you for being you. I thank you for loving me. You are my all and the rest of my life." I had tears flowing down my face as he told me this, and it took all of my control to not hyperventilate.

"Eric, I am the one that should be thankful for you. I had no idea I could be so happy. You complete me. I am nothing without you now, I love you."

He took me into his arms and pulled me into a deep kiss that sent by whole body into shock waves of love and lust for him. I wanted nothing more than to be with him alone, to consummate our marriage in every way we knew. However we had guests and I could hear Pam not so subtly coughing as she stood near by. We reluctantly pulled back from our kiss and both moaned at the loss of each other, but remained touching as close as we could. Eric stood behind me, wrapping his arms around my front as mine went around the back to his perfect ass.

"You two really need to get a room, but as this is your house, we will take our leave and head to Fangtasia partying in your name. We'll be back in a few hours so not go getting ideas about consummating over the whole house!" She smirked a very Eric smile and then grabbed Amelia and Bill each by their hands and led them back to the pain house.

"So my love, we are alone. Is there anything you would like to do?" He cocked an eyebrow at me, and I had an overwhelming urge to lick his eyebrow, which I did causing him to laugh loudly. "Sookie, you do make me laugh!" He picked me up over his shoulder and deposited me in the small bedroom of the cottage that was dominated by the larger bed filling the room. We didn't actually make it out of that room, and after a couple of hours I was completely spent.

I laid in my vampires arms, gently slipping in and out of sleep with my vampire whispering his ancient words in my ear when all of a sudden his whole body stiffened and he cursed loudly jumping to his feet. Within seconds six large and well-armed vampires had crashed into the room. I screamed, grabbing the sheets to cover up my naked body. Eric, also naked, was in a warrior-like pose but had no weapon to hand and although he took out two of the vampires he was unable to tackle them all as they threw silver ropes around him and bound him tightly. Eric was shouting, screaming for me to get away, the anger coming from him unstoppable, yet I could feel the pain he was in as a result of the silver ropes.

No one had touched me, focusing their attention on the still battling form of Eric Northman. I was racking my mind trying to figure out what I could do to help, and I called out to Eric for assistance.

"_My love, try and remain calm. I will get us out of this I promise. Do everything they ask of you, no one can take you away from me now. We are too tightly bound. I love you Sookie, I am sorry I have not protected you better."_

"_Eric, I love you. Please be careful. I cannot live without you."_

"_I know, just be safe. He wants you and should not hurt you. Do as he says until I can come for you. Pam will get help to us._"

I nodded, my eyes never leaving his until the form of Felipe de Castro walked into the room, kicking Eric as he walked past him on the floor.

"Northman, good to see you again, Sheriff. I see there are some things you have not been telling me about you and this delicious little fairy." He kicked Eric again and pulled him up so they were level, eye-to-eye. "Northman, I will enjoy torturing you even more this time, and I assure you that I will not let you go. I admit that I made an error in letting you go before. I will not do that again."

He turned his attentions to me, and I met his eyes as he pulled the sheet away from me revealing my naked body. I felt a wave of anger from my husband accompanied by a loud roar as de Castro ran a finger down my trembling body. The vampire guards were struggling to cope with Eric until more arrived, pinning him back down to the floor. I sent all the strength and love I could to my vampire as I faced de Castro.

"Sookie, you truly are delectable. I look forward to ravishing your sweet body. And don't worry about Northman here, I will let him watch!" He smiled an evil grin as he stroked my body once more before pulling a bottle out of his pocket, depositing the contents onto a handkerchief and holding it in front of my face. I knew it was probably chloroform, and I tried not to breath in but I had to breath eventually. As I lost consciousness with the world I heard the repeated line in my head of Eric telling me that he loved me and would get us out of this. I truly hoped we'd both get out of this alive.


	12. Chapter 12

_Thank you for all your kind words._

_Reader discretion is required for this chapter. _

**Eric**

Fuck. I could not believe that I had been so stupid, it was unlike me to ever let my guard down, but I had been so happy and content in a world that existed of only Sookie and I, I had done just that. I had let Pam take Amelia and Bill away to Fangtasia and left us here unguarded, and I let us stay down at the cottage rather than going back into the house where no one could have reached us if we were locked in my room. This was my fault and Sookie or I could be killed as a result of this. After our bonding the previous night I was certain that we could not survive without each other, so if anything happened to either one of us, the other would not be able to cope.

The night had gone from being one of the best of my life to the worst in a few brief minutes. Watching Sookie walk down the aisle to me was exquisite. She looked so beautiful and radiant in her other worldly dress that shimmered and changed colour in the candle light. I had never seen anyone so beautiful in my long life, and I knew I was a truly blessed vampire to have this delicate human woman. The surge of emotions coming from my bonded let me know that she was feeling exactly the same as me. I never wanted to be parted from her, and now that was exactly what would happen. I shuddered to think at what de Castro would do to her, and I promised myself that his death would not be a pleasant one. I just hoped that I could get to him in time before he dared to touch my bonded.

As soon as the vampires arrived I knew de Castro was behind the coup, and I called out to my child for assistance, telling her to call on our friends and await Stan Davis' arrival. Although we knew the love bond was not now going ahead I had still invited Stan to come and stay, and I now hoped that he would help us get out of this. I had fully instructed Pam on what she should do if this exact circumstance happened, and with her being at Fangtasia she was perfectly placed to put that plan into action. I only hoped that de Castro wasn't smart enough to go for her as well, but as she did not seem to be in trouble I assumed that all was okay. Pam had a lengthy list of vampires, daemons and now elves who had sworn their allegiance to help Sookie and I, and I knew Pam would bring an army to this battle. And de Castro had many enemies who would happily look upon this as am excuse to attack. Sookie was known throughout the supe community thanks to her exploits in Rhodes, and she was respected among the vampires, a feat quite extraordinary for a human.

I was to keep my bond open to Pam as best I could while we were taken so she could track where we were. As de Castro carried Sookie's unconscious and naked body to the waiting cars at the front of my house, there was nothing I wanted to more than to rip his head from his shoulders, but I was losing strength all the time as I was chained in the silver and his guards were continually slicing my skin so that I lost blood. By the time we reached the airstrip at Shreveport I was struggling to remain conscious, but with all the strength I could muster I told Pam where we were and where our likely destination was to be. De Castro was being very predictable in taking us back to Las Vegas, but he was arrogant and power hungry and I knew that would be his downfall in the end.

Once we reached the predictably black private jet on the runway I saw that Sookie was carried onto the plane and I screamed out for her before I was hit around the head hard with a blunt object. I turned to face my aggressor to see it was the slimy Victor Madden.

"Well, well, well, Northman. How interesting to see you screaming like a girl for your precious bonded. She won't be yours for much longer I can assure you of that. She will be bound to the King while you are forced to watch, and only then when you be given the release in your final death. You will be begging us to take your pitiful existence from you by the time we are done with her. And she will not want you, she will belong to the king. As soon as he is bound to her you will be no longer in her thoughts."

I hoped that Sookie knew to play along with their games. They did not know that she could not be glamoured, and did not know our bond could not be broken. If Sookie could play along we may have a chance. I needed to trust and rely on my fairy for this. I feared things were moving very fast and our help would not arrive in time.

With heavy gloves on protecting them from the silver Madden and four vampire guards led me over to a silver lined coffin and pushed me inside, my chains still tight around me giving me no room to move. Madden then proceeded to pouring silver nitrate powder over my still naked body. The pain was excruciating and I was only thankful that Sookie too was unconscious as I was not sure that I would be able to keep this pain from her. However it did not take too long until I too was unconscious.

**Sookie**

I awoke not knowing where I was. I was in the bed of an unfamiliar room, the sun streaming through the window. I at least had some clothes on in the form of a pale pink silk nightgown, though I did not like to think who put me in it as I had no underwear on. I looked around the room and I saw that all seemed relatively normal. I had a headache but after checking myself over for any kind of injury I seemed okay.

I thought back to the events of the night before. It had been the most perfect night, marrying Eric was all that I wanted, and now within hours of doing just that I had been kidnapped by the King of Louisiana and held hostage in what I assumed to be Las Vegas. My only consolation was that Eric was alive. I had every confidence in the fact that I would not be living if he were not. We were too closely tied, and our life forces were now as one. I hopped out of bed and tried the door, but as expected the door was locked fast. I went into the bathroom and dealt with my human needs and brushed my teeth using a toothbrush in a sealed packet I found. I was thirsty so drank some water from the faucet, but that was not helping with my hunger.

I went back into the bedroom and threw myself back onto the bed and allowed myself to give into my tears. This is not what I had planned for my wedding night, I was marrying the man of my dreams and everything has gone do horribly wrong. As I sobbed I had a very bad feeling that I was not going to come out of this alive. And I knew the problem was that if I was not alive neither would Eric be. I looked to the clock, it was two in the afternoon so I had a few hours to wallow in my misery before the vampires were up. I prayed to god that Eric would be okay. I needed him to be okay, I needed his strength to get through this.

But Eric was a practical, pragmatic vampire. I was sure that he had some kind of contingency plan should anything like this happen. Where were Amelia, Pam and Bill, and were they okay? They had gone to Fangtasia, had anything gone off there? I knew Pam had a connection to Eric through the bond they shared as maker and child, so he must have been able to let her know her what was happening.

After regaining my composure I cleared my mind and then lowered my shields. There were not many humans around, and Amelia certainly did not appear to be here – even in her sleep she was a loud broadcaster. I could tell that there were two Were guards outside my door, and a few more at either end of the corridor. The thoughts I could understand were mostly those of boredom. The hum of Eric's life force indicated that Eric was probably in the same building, but he seemed to be much below me. I walked to the window to look out and saw I was on the third floor with no way of leaving the room without the gift of levitation or braking every bone in my body. As I looked outside I saw landscaped gardens beneath me with a pool and sun loungers beside it.

I was trapped in this room. All I could do was try and stay alive long enough for Eric to formulate a plan. De Castro had said the night before that he wanted to take me while Eric watched. Much as I couldn't imagine anything worse, to see the face of my husband before I died was all that I needed. But de Castro didn't know anything about me. He would no doubt make me drink his blood and try to bond with me. He would not, however, be successful. Both of us knew that, so I would not fight the King on that one.

My thoughts turned to who had told the king about our wedding. Very few vampires knew of our engagement and the ones who knew at Fangtasia were too loyal to Eric to ever consider betraying him, and I knew that Bill would not betray me. I had a very bad feeling that my own brother was behind this. Maybe not directly as I doubted he understood vampire politics, but maybe he had said something to the wrong person, or been mouthing off at Merlottes. If I found out it was him and we survived this I would happily let Eric have his way with him, after I had my own of course. Those thoughts of violence against my own brother put me in a very dark place, but whoever was responsible for this was going to pay, whether they meant for this to happen or otherwise.

After a few hours I head a noise in the corridor outside and a key entered the lock of my door. I darted under the sheets of the bed and pushed my back up against the headboard bringing my knees to me. The door opened and a trolley was pushed into the room laden with a plate of steaming hot food, drinks and a bowl of fresh fruit. The smell of the food was incredible and my stomach rumbled with anticipation. I looked to the lady who had pushed it in. She was a shifter of some sort and probably in her late fifties or early sixties. I tried hard to understand her thoughts but they were just a snarly mess to me, and it somehow seemed like she had been warned against my telepathic abilities as she was shielding her mind and emotions from me. It made me distrust her even more than I already did.

She parked the food trolley in the centre of the room and turned to look at me. "It's all okay, the food is fine, I promise you it has not been poisoned or anything." It was almost as if she could read my thoughts, but her body language seemed to suggest she was telling the truth, or at least believed she was telling me the truth. "I'd eat if I were you, you'll need your strength." She gave me a knowing half-smile as she said this and I shuddered at thought of what the night may involve. I had suddenly lost my appetite.

After she left the room I waited until I could hear her no longer and then walked to the trolley, sniffing and then sampling the food. There was a steaming plate of medium-rare fillet steak with a baked potato and steamed veg, with a cheesecake of sorts for dessert, along with a pot of coffee and fruit. As soon as I smelled the steak I was hungry so tucked in to what I assumed may be my last meal. At least it was a tasty one.

When I was finished I looked out of the window and saw that the sun was setting. By this time at home Eric would be awake, albeit still safely underground in our bedroom, so I probed the bond to see if I could contact him. It certainly felt stronger than it had earlier, so I assumed that he was awake, only that he was either very weak or shielding the bond from me due to some horrific injury de Castro's vampires had inflicted on him. I made a promise to myself that if they had laid a finger on Eric's beautiful body I would make sure they paid for it. I had not quite worked out how, but I would not let them get away with hurting him.

After a few hours I again heard a noise in the corridor and the door opened again, this time two younger Weres walked in along with a bodyguard, who looked like he was close to seven foot tall. He was even bigger than Quinn had been, so I wondered what he shifted into. I turned to the two females with trepidation, and they introduced themselves as Tanya and Becky. They had come in with a garment bag and a case of what looked to be hair and beauty items. It was Tanya that spoke to me.

"His Majesty has requested your presence, and we're here to get you ready for a royal visitation at midnight tonight. Its quite an honour to be here as a guest of the King. He has brought you a beautiful cocktail dress for you to wear..." She was twittering on and on about what an privilege it was that I was here. Considering I had been kidnapped and taken out of my home state to Las Vegas I did not consider it an honour. I tried to reach Eric again, but still had no luck. I was forced into the bathroom to shower while the girls continued to talk to me from behind the shower screen. I dried off, put on a dressing gown and headed back into the bedroom.

The two girls were talking amongst themselves as they had finally noticed that I was not responding to them, and after they had done my make-up and put my hair in a sophisticated up-do, they informed me that I should strip out of the gown I was wearing and put on the cocktail dress that had been laid out onto the bed. The dress itself was not one I would have chosen, and I knew the colour would make me look gaunt. It was a strapless silver dress that would cling to my every curve with matching silver stiletto heels. I walked over to pick the dress up to change in the bathroom, yet was told I had to change there. I turned my back to them and stripped out of the bathrobe and pulled the silver dress on over my head, pulling it right down to my knees and then adjusting the top of the dress. They did not appear to have left me any underwear. This was a worrying sign and my panic increased tenfold.

Once dressed Becky informed me that it was now time for me to meet the King. I looked at the clock and saw that it was ten minutes to midnight. As her and Tanya flanked me I was led out of the room with two Weres in front of me and another three behind me. In lighter circumstances I may well have felt like a celebrity, but this was threatening. We walked through corridor after corridor before reaching a large open foyer and being pushed into a private elevator with my Were guards surrounding me. We appeared to go up a few floors before the doors pinged open and I was pushed through another set of doors and into de Castro's office..

The room was large and lit solely by lights on the wall creating a rather strange atmosphere in the slightly too dark room. It was plushly decorated with a rich and thick red carpet that looked very comfortable. The walls were also dark red with gold fixtures and it almost seemed slightly Christmassy. De Castro's desk was in the centre of the room facing the entrance, and as I was pushed into the room he looked up from what he was doing and placed his pen down on the table in a deliberate fashion. He nodded at the guards behind me and they left, leaving the two vampire guards in the room with de Castro and I.

"Sookie, my dear, so good to see you. And I must say you quite fetching in that dress." He sneered at me and an intense wave of anger raised within me. He indicated to a chair in front of his desk, "Won't you please have a seat." His eyes were upon me and I could tell that he was trying to glamour me. I decided to play along with him and walked quickly towards the chair in a deliberate fashion, hoping that I was doing the right thing. He looked pleased with himself, so I had obviously done not a bad job.

"Sookie, I was very disappointed when I heard from the Shifter that you were marrying Eric. I did give you time to contact me, and I even phoned Eric at Fangtasia yet he decided not to tell me his happy news. That was a direct disregard of his orders, and he has therefore forfeited you to me. I can assure you though my dear, I am quite thrilled at his disobedience. I was going to take you anyway, but he really did make it very easy for me. That cottage in the woods was delectable, and with no security it was child's play."

De Castro had carried on but my anger was burning within me and I felt I would spontaneously combust at any given point. I was going to kill Sam if it was the last thing I did for betraying me like that. I know I had probably hurt him by not returning his affections, but he was going to get me and Eric killed.

Seeing that I had zoned out, de Castro had shot out around his desk and was now standing directly in front of me. He placed one hand on my hip and with another lifted my chin up so that I was staring directly into his eyes. I again felt his mind trying to convince my own to turn my neck to offer myself to him, and although it took every ounce of strength in me to do so, it was exactly what I did. He licked my pulsing artery and I cringed deep within me. Every fibre of my being was screaming how wrong this was. It was not Eric, and my body belonged to my Viking. De Castro took a sniff and moaned into my neck before his fangs pierced my skin.

I tried not to sob from the pain and discomfort of having him bite me. It was not the usual nips and bites I had from Eric, and it was certainly not erotic in anyway. He held me close to him as he drank and I could feel his arousal growing. He seemed to be drinking deeper than I would have thought, and I tried to pull away from him, but he seemed addicted to my fairy-laden blood. I screamed and pulled away from him, my panic getting the better of me. De Castro finally stopped, his eyes heavily lidded with lust as he looked at me. I guess Eric had some kind of immunity to my blood, as I knew de Castro would have drained me then and there had I not screamed.

He picked me up, and despite my screaming and kicking he threw me onto the day bed that was to the side of the room. My panic was consuming me, but I felt I wave of calm push through me. One which could only have come from my Viking.

"_Eric, can you hear me? Please help me, de Castro nearly drained me. He's going to rape me."_

I felt a huge surge of anger from my husband._ "I am coming my love, help has arrived. Hold on as long as you can. I will be there. Victor Madden is already dead. I promise you I will get there my love. Hold on"_

I almost smiled at hearing his voice, but was pulled out of my fantasy by de Castro's hand running up my leg. I screamed and tried to push his hand away.

"Sookie," he was looking straight into my eyes and his mind was probing my own. "You will yield to me. You will drink from me and bond to me." Luckily his hand stopped its path up my thigh and he pulled me to him, biting his own wrist and holding it to my mouth. His eyes never left my own, and the pushing against my mind indicated what I had to do. I begrudgingly lifted my lips to his bleeding wrist and latched onto the wound, allowing his thick blood trickle down my throat. I was repulsed by his blood, it was no where near as nice as Eric's own, or even Bills. It tasted wrong and had more of a sour note than either Eric's or Bill's. It couldn't be down to age considering the age gap between my two vampire lovers, but it was just not as sweet as Eric's. I did realise that this ingestion of vampire blood would give me some extra strength I needed in fighting de Castro when the time came, so took as much as I could.

He was laughing at me when he withdrew his wrist from me. He tenderly stroked my hair, "My dear, I am pleased that you crave my blood. You will be allowed more, but not yet. You need to do things for me first!" His voice was thick with lust and it made my skin crawl. "I can feel the connection between us forming already, and I know you do me. Soon, Sookie, you will never be able to leave me. You will be my pet and I will be the envy of all the other monarchs in America having the beautiful telepath as my own bonded pet." I certainly could not feel any connection to him whatsoever, meaning it was obviously one-sided. He stroked my face and down the side of my body, his hand brushing against my breast as his fingered my nipple. "But I am a generous vampire, I will share you with others. I know Victor Madden covets you as well, and I will reward my second with you when I am finished."

He leaned over and kissed me, his hand rubbing over my body. I needed Eric here now. I could sense that he was closer than before. I knew he was coming, I just needed to hold on. But de Castro was pushing my limit. His kiss deepened and his fingers were pulling at the bottom of the dress, and I was not sure how much longer I could keep up the façade of being glamoured by him. I had to fight him, but I was the only human in the room with three vampires. My odds of success were slim to none.

His eyes were back on me. "I can see that you are trying to fight me, my sweet. I will not allow that. You will yield to me. Get on your knees and take me into your mouth." He pushed me off the bed onto the carpet and his erection sprang free from his trousers. Gripping my hair he pulled my head towards his groin and forced himself into my mouth. I allowed him entrance, mentally screaming to Eric the whole time. I tried to picture myself in another situation. One where I was alone with my Viking and he was the one receiving the pleasure, however I could not. When I felt de Castro's hand slide underneath the top of my dress I could take no more and I ran to the other side of the room and stood behind his desk.

He looked too stunned to come after me, and then the anger consumed him. "Why are you disobeying me? Sookie, come here now." His glamour was at full force but my feet remained firmly in position. It was now or never. Eric was close, but I did not know if he was close enough.

"No. I will not yield to you. I am bound to Eric, and you cannot take me from him. He is my husband and I will not go to you." I was resolute in my words and the King was fuming.

He stood up and slowly walked towards me, his eyes never leaving my own.

"_Sookie, I am coming. Hold on!"_

Eric was close, I could feel that. But de Castro was dangerous and I truly feared for my life.

"So you cannot be glamoured. I had heard rumours that you could not, but you have been playing me. Miss Stackhouse, I do not appreciate people playing me. You will be forced to bond to me and you will be my slave. I would have been good to you, now I will not be. You will be passed from vampire to vampire, and when you start to get old and decrepit I will drain you of your beautiful fairy blood. And as for your 'husband'? You have sealed his fate now. He will be meeting the sun tomorrow morning without doubt, and you will be there to watch him fry."

The grin on his face was pure evil. Tears were pouring down my face and my body was convulsing with sobs. Watching Eric meet the sun would break me into a thousand pieces, my life would be over. Of course de Castro did not know that that would literally be the case. But Eric was not far away. De Castro did not know that he was battling his way here to me.

"You think that your Viking can rescue you now? I can hear a commotion downstairs, but he will not succeed in getting in here. The hallway is laden with traps, and he will be impaled by silver. You are on your own little one."

Fuck. I would have thought Eric would be here by now and the bond seemed to have lessened in the passing minutes. I was on my own. But I was not going to be his pet, I would not go down without a fight.

It seemed an odd thing for a vampire to have on his desk, but I noticed that de Castro had an ornamental jewel encrusted wooden stake on his desk that obviously appeared to be used as some kind of paperweight. It was made of a dark mahogany and was rectangular at the bottom with a nice fine point at the top. It was perfect. I made a quick snatch of it and stood with the stake in my hand as I faced the approaching King.

"You will put that down, NOW!"

I was starting to feel cocky. "You've already established that you cannot glamour me, so why bother?" I don't quite know where my bravery (or stupidity) came from, but it was with me now. I could feel Eric again getting closer and heard a crash outside the door.

De Castro turned his head towards the door as it burst open, my Viking in ripped jeans and t-shirt, covered in blood, sword in his hand and looking every bit the warrior he was. With one swoop of his sword he had decapitated the two vampire guards. A huge smile appeared on my face as I took him in and I was mesmerised by his beauty and power. I had not noticed what de Castro was doing.

I heard Eric yell at me, "Sookie!"

The stake I was holding slipped out of my hands as I felt a sharp pain in the centre of my chest. I looked down to see that de Castro had stabbed me underneath my rib cage with a long knife he had pulled from somewhere. He pulled it from me and I fell to my knees, blood pouring out of my chest wound.

I heard Eric yell in anguish and a swipe of his sword as he decapitated de Castro, his head flying off to the other side of the room. He was instantly at my side and let out another howl as he saw my wound.

I was losing my battle and stared deep into Eric's eyes. I pleaded with him "Help me, Eric. Your blood can heal me."

His own red tears were streaming down his face. "Sookie, I can't. I'm too late. I love you. I will be by your side forever. Our souls will go on for an eternity, you will be with me in Valhalla. I cannot give you my blood, you have lost too much of your own. I cannot save you now. This is the end, my love. I will see you on the other side." He kissed me tenderly on the lips.

I registered what he was saying. And with my last breath, I said:

"Eric, turn me."


	13. Chapter 13

**Eric**

When I'd awoken that morning I found that I'd been removed from the silver coffin and chains I'd travelled in, and had evidently been washed off, as the silver nitrate was no longer burning my skin. I'd been taken from the plane to what I assumed to be de Castro's home in Vegas, but I'd remained unconscious for the whole time. It was the longest I had ever remained unconscious following silver poisoning and torture, and I almost commended Madden for his cunning in using it as a torture method.

As I awoke and took in my surroundings I saw a tall, large blonde vampire standing in the corner of the room with his arms crossed across his chest. His presence was dominating the room. He was wearing a dark jacket with a black t-shirt underneath, dark jeans and boots. As I sat up and regarded the vampire further he walked over to me. I stood up and greeted him, shaking his hand as he drew me towards him into an embrace.

"You look like shit, big brother." He handed me a warmed bag of donor blood which I quickly drained. He had another to hand which I also emptied. He handed me clothes and I dressed in the jeans, t-shirt and boot he'd provided. "That child of yours is quite something, I believe she has orchestrated quite the army. Shame she's not interested in men, though I'm sure I can convince her otherwise."

He smirked at me and I growled, baring my teeth at him. He just laughed and slapped me on the arm. "Eric, it's good to see you back to normal." He'd been chasing after Pam since I first made her, and although I think she quite liked him, she enjoyed rejecting him even more. He was always very cock-sure when it came to his womanising abilities.

Gunnar was my 'younger brother'. Appius had made him around fifty years after me and he came from a village around a hundred miles north of my own. Like me he was around 6 foot 4 inches, broad and a warrior. We had always got on well, but until a few years previous we had not been in contact for over two hundred years.

"Is she worth all this?"

I regarded him. He once had a bonded human and lived with her for over forty years until her eventual death. Like Sookie, she was headstrong and had not wanted to be turned, and it almost broke him when she passed.

"You of all people would know that she is. We are too closely bound. If anything were to happen to her then I would not want to go on. I will meet the sun if I am without her. I have made arrangements for my legacy accordingly."

"Fuck, you've done the love bond haven't you?" He looked astounded at me. He hadn't told his bonded of this option as he hoped she would eventually decide to become vampire. She did not have that choice as she was murdered by the clergy during the daylight hours for her association with the unholy. They were obviously the forerunners of the Fellowship of the Sun.

"No, I haven't. I told her but we decided against it. As fate would have it, we had another option. She is part Fae, of the royal bloodline, and her fairy magic bound us together when we combined and drank from the same goblet." I did not go into the story of the bullet. That was private between Sookie and I.

I probed the bond to see how Sookie was. She seemed okay considering the circumstances, but was anxious and scared about the coming events. I put my walls back up, I did not want her to feel the battle that was coming ahead.

"A Fairy? I can see why she is so special to you. I look forward to meeting her." He nodded his head to me and handed me a sword. It wasn't my own, but it was ancient and well-weighted. I swung it a few times and swirled it within my hand. Yes, this felt good.

It had become apparent over the years that de Castro was increasingly power hungry. Sophie-Anne had known him to be a threat and he was pissing off a lot of other vampires, most notably Mariana Serafim, the Californian Queen. Gunnar had lived in Mariana's court for over thirty years and they had been on and off lovers within this time. Gunnar had been planted within de Castro's court for this exact reason. The King's mistake was being too reliant on Bill's vampire database. When he first started collating the information I had asked Bill to falsify Gunnar's record, so when he moved to Nevada and requested a position within de Castro's court he got the job without suspicion of being my brother or Mariana's lover.

"You've had no problems with de Castro then over these years?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle. I always felt that he didn't trust me, but he quickly moved me into a position of power within his kingdom. I'm only sorry that I didn't get to find out what he was planning before this kicked off."

"I doubt anyone other than Madden and Sandy would have known about this, Rasul in New Orleans didn't know anything or he would have warned me. Pam contacted you last night?"

"Yes, like I said, she has raised quite the army. It seems she gathered a following of vampires, weres and witches from Louisiana and when Stan Davis arrived from Texas they flew here to Vegas, landing in the dessert to avoid detection. They were all safely housed for the night and await your command to attack. I also called the Queen who will be mobilising her forces for attack on the western front. She is grateful to you for allowing her to take Nevada."

"I have no interest in this state, she is more than welcome to it."

We sat quietly waiting for the right time to attack and we had to time this just right. If we attacked too early then Sookie would be in further danger. We had to wait until she was with the king and then make our move. I hated using her as a distraction but it was our only option, and I could not let Sookie know of our plan for fear that she may inadvertently give away something, or get herself killed by being too headstrong.

After a couple of hours I heard the sound of doors unlocking and a vampire entering the dungeon where I was supposed to be held. The door was solid metal, so the approaching vampire could not see that I was not in the restraints that would be expected. Victor Madden walked into the room, a smile on his face which quickly faded when he saw me fully clothed and sword in hand. With one swoop of my sword I sliced him in two. It was too easy a death for him, but I did not have time to give him the death he deserved. I watched as his body dissolved into the ground with a level of satisfaction.

I felt Sookie's panic rise, so knew that now was our time to attack. I had felt Pam getting closer and knew she was in position. I informed her over our bond that now was the time, and looked to the clock seeing it was approaching midnight.

I nodded to Gunnar and we left the dungeon, sword in hand and came up against four of his 'work colleagues'. They looked surprised to see him with me, but were decapitated before they had the chance to raise the alarm.

It felt good to be in battle with Gunnar by my side. Appius had chosen us both because of our stature and warrior skills, being a Roman gladiator himself. We had fought many battles together over the few hundred years we were together as nest mates, and he truly was my brother.

As we left the dungeon area we were met my further vampires and weres, and the odds were not so favourable this time. There must have been at least eight vampires and four weres, as I was battling two vampires an impossibly tall were joined the fight. He was strong, and although not in his animal form he was incredibly strong. He'd sliced my chest with his own short sword, but after being caught off balance by a wolf Gunnar had thrown into him I gripped him and swung him towards the sound of bullets that were heading in my direction. He was shot multiple times and collapsed in a heap on the floor.

Once we'd dispatched with this distraction, Gunnar led the way towards de Castro's office. I could feel Sookie's panic and sent her a wave of calm. She seemed relieved to hear from me and told me that the King had nearly drained her and was going to rape her. I was livid, yet told her to hold on, that I would get to her in time. As we entered the main foyer of de Castro's home we were met by a huge influx of his vampires. Gunnar and I were back to back and completely surrounded. Pam was close and I told her to get a move on, but it was Mariana and her vampires that came to our aid first. I was beginning to enjoy this battle and my blood lust was rising. I battled my way towards the private elevator that led to de Castro's rooms with Gunnar right behind. I again told Sookie to hold on as her emotions spiked.

Gunnar gripped me on the arm. "Brother, be wary. Once you exit the elevator the corridor leading to his office if lined with traps, you must be vigilant." I nodded to him and smiled at Pam who had recently joined the battle. She had brought several of the area vampires and Alcide and his weres. Stan Davis and his Texan vampires were also amongst the assailants. The battle was intense but becoming increasingly one sided as the Nevada vampires and wolves were taken down.

Gunnar and I entered the elevator and once we had ascended to the level to be met by five bodyguards. We burst into the corridor back to back and attacked. I could feel Sookie's emotions flaring, but Gunnar and I were a well-oiled fighting machine and the bodyguards were no match for us. I faced the corridor that led to de Castro's office. It looked perfectly innocent but I was grateful for my brother's forewarning.

"Eric, you will have to take some hits, but keep your wits about you. There are chest height silver bullets and stakes which you will need to avoid. The traps can be disarmed from the the doorway. Good luck brother, I look forward to meeting your wife."

He slapped me on the back and I negotiated the corridor, keeping my emotions under control and suppressed. Sookie's panic would not help me here. It was truly an impressive gauntlet, but nothing I could not handle. As I reached the doorway I disarmed the booby-traps to enable the vampires to follow me without any further trouble.

I burst into the room and laid my eyes on Sookie who was holding an ornate stake with de Castro slowly approaching her. She smiled at seeing me and I beheaded the two vampires guarding the door with one swoop of my sword. I was itching to do the same to de Castro, and strode through the room to where my wife and de Castro were. She was holding her own but had been distracted by my entrance into the room.

De Castro had leaned slightly and withdrawn a long knife from inside his boot and quicker than I could shout a warning to Sookie he had plunged it underarm, underneath her rib cage and into her heart. I flew across the room, my sword sending his head flying across the room and I sunk to my knees, wailing in anguish as I saw the damage de Castro's knife had caused her.

The smell of her blood was overwhelming me, and pouring out of her chest wound at an incredible rate. She was losing to much blood, she would not survive. I wanted nothing more than to turn her, but I still respected her decision. She pleaded with me to heal her, but I knew it was too late to mend her. My own tears were now falling down my face, and I told her how much I loved her.

I knew this was also the end of my long existence. I had survived a thousand years, but this twenty-something mostly human girl had been my undoing. I loved her more than life itself. I could not carry on without her. I was not even sure that I would be able to wait until sunrise. I looked to de Castro's ornate stake and considered impaling myself upon it. I was happy that I had my affairs in order, Pam would inherit everything I had, though I had left some to a few charitable causes.

I stared into Sookie's pained face as the few last breaths escaped her, and then she said it. With what must have been her last breath she said, "Eric, turn me."

I was not going to think about it, not going to argue with her on whether she knew what she was saying. I tore into my wrist and held it to her open mouth as my blood poured down her throat, when my wound began to heal I ripped at my wrist again and held it to her mouth. I did this three more times before Pam and Gunnar held me back.

"Eric, that's enough. You can't give her all of your blood," Pam had tears rolling down her face as she held me in her arms. "She wanted this?" She wasn't questioning my actions, just surprised that Sookie had wanted it.

"Yes. She told me to turn her," I looked over at Sookie, she was covered in blood. Her own that had poured out of her chest wound and some of mine that had missed her mouth. I prayed to the gods that I was quick enough. I had not sensed that he heart had stopped beating, so I was fairly confident that she would be turned under normal circumstances. But ours were not normal circumstances. The nature of the bond we held was so much greater than we had imagined. Niall had said that it was likely she could still be turned, but we were bonded much tighter than any of us had expected. I walked forward again to her and held her in my arms, letting out an almighty roar. She may become vampire, but de Castro had murdered my just over 24 hours after I had married her.

I don't know how long I held her in my arms, and although I was barely aware of the goings on in the room I did not take any notice. I needed Sookie to get through this. I didn't think I would be able to cope if after waiting three days with her to find that she had not turned. It was Pam who brought me back to reality as she approached me with two warmed True Bloods in her hand.

"Eric, you should drink. You have given Sookie a lot of your blood tonight, you need to stay strong." I gratefully took the bloods from her and drained both bottles, handing her the empties. "Master, the Queen of California wishes to speak to you." She waited for me to react, but when I didn't she continued. "Eric, you need to get this sorted tonight. I know you will wish to lie with her until she awakens, so this needs to be done now. I will take Sookie back below to a light-tight room. You are now King of Louisiana and Arkansas, you must not neglect that now."

She was right. I picked Sookie up of the floor and placed her gently into Pam's arms, kissing my wife on the lips and tasting my own blood as I did so. Another tear escaped my eyes as I did so. I indicated to Thalia and Felicia who had joined us that they should go with Pam and keep my wife under guard until I came back.

As I watched my child carry Sookie out of the room I took the time to compose myself. This evening had been a roller-coaster of blood-lust and extreme heartbreak. I walked to the sink in the room and washed my face. My clothes were bloodied and torn, but I was not going to degrade myself by wearing something of de Castro's. I held myself up tall and strong and walked out of the room, the remaining vampires bowing to me and calling me 'Your Majesty'. Maybe I could get used to this.

As I entered back into the foyer of the now permanently deceased former King's household I met with the Queen of California. She was around 5 foot 6 and of Portuguese decent, with long braided dark hair and dark eyes. She was quite beautiful in a way very different to my Sookie. I respectfully bowed to her.

"Viking. I am sorry for the loss of your human wife, but delighted to hear that she will now become vampire. Of course you will be safe staying here until she awakens, and I will arrange for guards for you and accommodation for the little army you brought along. I look forward to meeting this wife of yours, for her to have the monarchs of two states and half the vampires and were of Louisiana to come to her rescue, she must be quite something. Anyway, we have paperwork to sign. I do trust our arrangement still stands?"

Her last question was said with a large degree of malice.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your hospitality. You are quite right in saying I wish to stay with her. And I look forward to you meeting her. I'm sure you will be able to understand quite how special she is. And of course our arrangement still stands. If you have the paperwork drawn up as agreed I will happily sign it."

I followed her to a smaller office off the main foyer and after reading through the paperwork to make sure it was as we agreed, we both signed. Mariana smiled a toothy grin at me.

"Well, Viking, we will submit these papers to the council as I'm sure you will for Louisiana and Arkansas. I will ask my lieutenant to sort you out with rooms, and we will begin the clear up. It seems that your raiding party caused a fair bit of damage, but I will be lenient on this occasion. She smiled at me to show her humour, and headed back up to de Castro's former office. I heard her telling her second that they intended to completely redecorate the palace.

I turned back to Gunnar who had been observing my conversation with his former lover. "So my brother, where will you be staying? California, Nevada, Louisiana, Arkansas?" I owed Gunnar for what he had done for me. We had had each other's backs more times than I could remember, but this one was particularly big. I would happily give him any position he desired within my kingdom if that was what he desired.

"Brother, I have not yet made up my mind. I will speak to Mariana, I have always enjoyed her company and would be happy to stay with her either here or in California. But I would like to work with you. I understand you were a respected sheriff, and I have every confidence that you will be a fair yet stern King. Can I take a rain-check on that one?"

I laughed at my brother's use of common slang and heartily slapped him on the back indicating that I was happy with his proposal. The Louisiana vampires and weres had regrouped and I spoke to Stan thanking him for the loan of his plane and offered to reimburse his costs, which he happily accepted. He informed me that he would take his leave, and told me he was looking forward to my coronation. Personally, I was not looking forward to the bureaucracy that came with being a vampire monarch.

My ruminations were broken when Amelia ran up to me and grabbed my arm. "Where is Sookie," she yelled, obviously upset by the events of the night, "Is she okay? What happened?" Tears were falling from her eyes, and my own thoughts turned dark, thinking at what could have happened if Sookie had not allowed me to turn her.

"Amelia, de Castro stabbed her in the heart. She lost a huge amount of blood, and I knew she was going to die. I thought I had lost her, but she told me to turn her."

She was astonished, her mouth slightly open when she looked up at me. "She told you to turn her? She's going to be a vampire? Fuck!"

"She would have died otherwise. She had lost too much blood. She asked me to do it and I did not hesitate." I couldn't believe I was explaining myself to this witch, but in some ways I was justifying it to myself as well. Sookie had always been so resolute in not wanting to become vampire, but then also did not want to not become a vampire. She did not want the love bond for that precise reason. "She should be okay, but we will not know until she has laid down with me for three days."

"So what, you're going to dig a hole and lie in the dirt with her?"

I smiled, it was an old concept and the terminology had remained the same. "Not literally. Pam has taken her to a light-tight room downstairs and I will stay with her until she rises vampire. Amelia, you should return to New Orleans. She will be a newly born vampire, and she will struggle to control her thirst. Even though she is a friend of yours she will be a danger to you. I will contact you as soon as it is safe to see her. Hopefully a couple of weeks should suffice. I will ask her to call you though. I know you will be worried about her, and I thank you for her friendship."

It was unlike me to be so warm to this witch, but she meant a lot to Sookie, and was therefore a friend of mine as well. As it was getting late in the night, one of Mariana Serafim's vampires came down and showed us all to our respective rooms. I thanked all the vampires and weres that had come from Louisiana and promised to reward them well for their efforts. We had only lost two vampires and three weres in the battle, which was impressive considering that we were so outnumbered. I spoke to Alcide who organised a guard for the door during the day of the room Sookie and I were to rest in, and I then relieved Thalia and Felicia.

I opened the door to the suite and was quite shocked to see that Pam has bathed Sookie and dressed her in a silk nightdress she found. Pam herself was curled up on the bed next to her and was stroking Sookie's hair. She looked up as I walked over and sat on the edge of the bed taking my boots off.

"Thank you, Pam, for looking after her. I would not have trusted anyone else with her, even Gunnar."

She smiled at me. "She truly is my sister now. You know I never wanted to be an only child, but I guess you broke the mould when you made me!" She smirked at me, but her smile was genuine and heart felt. "I do hope I'm not going to be replaced?" She pouted a little as she said that and I let out a hearty laugh.

"Pam, my child, you will never be replaced. But things will be different with Sookie. She will be more of my equal than my child as we are bound so closely. Niall told us if she were to be vampire that I would not be able to compel her in the same was that I can you. She is my wife, but she will also be your sister."

"She will make an excellent vampire, Master. I look forward to spending much time with her. And I do hope she retains her sense of humour, she loved riling you almost as much as me!"

I rolled my eyes at her and went into the bathroom to shower before crawling into the space Pam had vacated on the bed.

"Good night Eric. I will see you in a few days once she awakens. If you need anything just let me know. The fridge is stocked with bottled blood along with a few bags of donor blood to get her started. Good luck."

Pam turned and left the room and I looked down at my beautiful wife. She was noticeably paler than she was in life, and her skin lacked the warmth and radiance that it did before, but she was every bit as beautiful as she always had been. I laid my head on her chest, missing the rhythmic beat of her heart and the sound of her blood pulsing through her veins. These were things I would miss, but they were firmly imprinted upon my brain and I would never forget the time I spent with my warm bonded human. As I laid down for the night I remembered our shower together and went to sleep with a smile upon my face.


	14. Chapter 14

**Sookie**

When I awoke, the first thing I noticed was how sharp my senses were. I could hear everything. The hum of electricity in the room, a couple talking from what must quite some distance away, the sound of the wind blowing around the building. My sense of smell was overloaded by bed linen, detergents and other cleaning agents, and the smell of a few different varieties of flowers in the room. When I dared to open my eyes everything was so much more vivid. There seemed to be colours I didn't know existed, and I could see the individual fibres of the ceiling tiles above. I moved slightly, marvelling at the feel of the soft cotton sheets beneath me in contrast to the silk nightdress I appeared to be wearing.

My head shot up at breakneck speed when I heard footsteps coming across the room. I saw Eric walking towards me. I could feel and see his trepidation, but the sheer sight of him filled me with joy. Somehow he was even more beautiful than he had been with my human eyes. I gasped as my eyes met his, and then gently laughed at myself for the fact that I was still trying to breath. I held my breath, and once realising that I didn't need to breath, tried to do without it. It was trickier than I thought it would be, but I figured I would need time to get used to it.

Eric had stopped at the foot of the bed, his eyes intent upon me. He was carrying what appeared to be a glass of blood, and when the smell of the warm blood reached me I felt my fangs slip down. I screeched slightly and covered my mouth with my hand before running a finger along my new fangs. Eric laughed gently and closed the distance between us.

"My love, how do you feel? I have brought you some blood. You must be starving."

As I thought about it I realised that I was incredibly hungry and I took the glass from him and downed the drink in one go. It was warm, rich and sweet with an irony taste to it. I was very glad that I had gotten used to Eric's blood as this may have freaked me out slightly, but it somehow felt very right. I handed the glass back to Eric.

"More, my love?" I nodded and he disappeared to heat me some more. He returned with another glass of blood and two bottles of True Blood.

As I took the glass from him I asked, "This isn't True Blood then?" I downed the glass, my hunger satiated slightly, but still in need of more.

"No, that was donor blood from a blood bank. It seemed de Castro had glamoured someone who worked at the hospital to deliver human blood in bags."

My emotions spiked at the thought of de Castro, and Eric placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"Sookie, he's dead. Though I killed him in far too easy a manner. For what he did to you he should have been slowly tortured and fed to piranhas. Here, drink this."

Relief washed over me knowing Eric had killed de Castro. He had murdered me after all. That was an odd thought, and this was going to take some getting used to. I took the bottle of blood from Eric's hand, sniffed at it and immediately gave it back.

"Eric, that stuff smells disgusting, how the hell do you drink that stuff?"

He laughed. "It takes some getting used to. Why do you think I always preferred to feed on you. Try a few different flavours, you will find one you prefer." He handed me the other bottle he was holding, which was flavoured B+. It struck me as odd that synthetic blood would come in different flavours and I wondered whether there was any correlation between real blood. I sniffed at this bottle, which smelt much better than the previous one. I drank it down in one go but I could not stop myself from screwing my face up when I had finished the drink. Another thought had come to me, however.

"Eric, does this mean now that my blood would not sustain you?"

He looked thoughtfully at me and let out an unnecessary sigh. "I'm afraid my love, it will. But that doesn't mean we can't still exchange blood for our own fun." He raised an eyebrow at me and I felt a surge of lust coming from him. I was glad I still felt so closely tied to him, and there seemed to be an even stronger link between us now. I imagined this was because he was my maker.

I wanted to see if our telepathy would still work, so projected into his mind, _"I'm still kind of hungry, can I have another blood?"_

He smiled kindly at me and I heard him open the fridge and heat up two more bloods for me, and one more for himself. He handed me the drinks, both also B+ and after drinking them both down I felt much more satisfied.

"You will not always be this hungry, I can now quite easily go days without drinking."

"Yeah, maybe, but you have a thousand years on me!" I sat up and pulled him to me. His skin was so smooth, and with my heightened senses he was so much more more beautiful, more perfect. As I stroked his face I could feel the lust growing between us. "Eric, I want you." I pulled off my nightdress and ripped at the t-shirt he was wearing, surprised by my own strength when it fell to pieces in my hands.

"I guess its my turn to need my clothes replacing," he said with a smirk. He shed the rest of the clothes he was wearing and pulled me to him, our bodies touching as much as possible. His touch was incredible and sent fireworks throughout my whole body. Everything felt more real, every sense was heightened to the nth degree. And he was no longer the cool vampire of my human life. Now I was vampire he felt normal temperature, it was heavenly.

His mouth met mine, and although I struggled a little getting used to kissing around my fangs it didn't take too long to get the gist of it. Our tongues were battling for dominance and I deliberately pricked mine of my fang to release a little blood into my mouth. Eric let out a guttural groan as he tasted my blood and he bit his own tongue, our bloods mingling in our mouths as we kissed. It tasted different to when we had shared blood in the goblet when we bonded, but as I was now vampire I assumed that was the reason. Either way, tasting our combined bloods had left us both very turned on, and when Eric's hand snaked down my body I opened my legs to allow him access to me.

His touch almost made me orgasm immediately, and I could not keep control of myself as I bucked on the bed underneath him. I could tell that Eric had to use quite a bit of force to keep me down, but he never broke our kiss as his hand explored my folds. This was one time I wanted to skip the foreplay, I needed him in me right away.

"ERIC, please, make love to me. I need to feel you in me."

He did just that, and he slammed into me with a force that may have broken my pelvis as a human, but was incredible now. The sensation of him inside me was like nothing I had ever known before. If I though sex with Eric had been the best I'd ever known as a human, then now as a vampire I was about to experience a whole new world of pleasure. I suddenly understood why vampires wanted sex so much. If it felt as good as this, why would you not? It did not take long for either of us to reach our climax, and I came with an intensity that may well have left me unconscious before.

Eric rolled of me on to his side facing me, and I moved to him and wrapped my arm around him. "I love you, Eric. Thank you for turning me."

The relief that flooded over Eric could not be missed. He leaned his head against mine, but I could see a rim of pink around his eyes. "You cannot know how good it is to hear you say that. I didn't know whether you'd remember asking me to turn you. These last two days have been torture for me. I knew that you were certainly not dead as rigor mortis had not set in, but I was unable to tell whether your turning would be successful. Though now I can quite rightly say that you are magnificent."

We lay in each others arms just holding each other. I thought back to the events leading to my human death. I didn't know what I would have done had I not known that Eric was coming to get me. I knew for sure that de Castro would have raped me at the very least. I would have been his slave, and god knows what he would have done to Eric. I remembered feeling quite happy in the knowledge that if the King had killed Eric I would not have survived. I would not want to have survived.

"Eric, where are we?"

"We're still in Vegas, I was unwilling to move you until I knew you were okay. We are scheduled to leave tomorrow night at first dark."

"So, we're going back home. To Louisiana? What about Nevada?"

"I am not King of Nevada. I did not want it. But you are now looking at King of Louisiana and Arkansas!"

Wow. "So, does that make me a queen?" I always knew that I would not have been able to be Queen as a human, but could a day old vampire be a queen? This would really take some getting used to. He nodded and pretended to bow deeply to me. I smacked him on the arm with more force than I intended as it almost threw him across the bed. "Shit, sorry. I guess I need to get used to this whole vampire strength thing." He was laughing at me even harder and pulled me back into his arms, nibbling on my neck.

"Okay, so if you're not King of Nevada, who is? And how did you escape from de Castro, he seemed convinced that you would not be rescuing me."

He sat up on the bed and faced me, his beautiful blue eyes searching my own. "Nevada now has a Queen. She is called Mariana Serafim and she is also the Queen of California. She has been wanting to take Nevada for many centuries, but somehow de Castro held onto the state. I have known since de Castro killed Sophie-Anne that it was likely I may need to fight de Castro over this, but I was biding my time. I had no intention of getting either you or I in trouble. It seems the former King had other plans though. De Castro was not especially liked among the other monarchs and had refused Mariana's offer of marriage to join the states together. I have therefore been making alliances with other vampires, and I promised Mariana that if I did kill de Castro and she helped then she could take Nevada. I had no interest in Nevada. I have everything I want in Louisiana." He smiled at me and leant in for a gentle kiss.

"As for how I escaped, Mariana had planted a vampire within de Castro's retinue a few years ago, and as I'd asked Bill to falsify his record on de Castro's copy of the database he never knew who the vampire really was. He is called Gunnar and he is a former lover of Mariana's. Victor had personally asked Gunnar to deal with me on my arrival, but rather than the torture Madden had planned, Gunnar made sure I was unchained and free from silver."

I gasped at the thought of what they did to him. I was torn between asking him what they did and not wanting to know for fear of getting too upset. However Eric distracted me from my thoughts and continued.

"After we were taken Pam raised herself an army of vampires and weres, and Amelia, and after meeting Stan Davis at the airport they flew to Nevada and took shelter over night. Pam contacted Gunnar when they arrived, and it was him who called the Californian Queen. Anyway, I could tell from your emotions when you were taken to de Castro as we could not risk attacking until that point. Gunnar and I battled up from the dungeons, killing Madden on our way and came to get you. We were met first by the Californian vampires first and then Pam arrived. There was a massive battle, but Gunnar and I left to come and get you. Sookie I am sorry I did not get to you earlier. Will you ever be able to forgive me? Please don't hate me, I don't think I could handle that."

Eric's eyes were intent on mine, and I could feel his guilt and sorrow through our now strengthened bond. He felt heartbroken that he had not got to me, and I imagined what he must have gone though when he was telling me that he could not just heal me, that I was too badly injured. I let out a sob feeling his pain, it was so intense, so heartfelt. The love from him was so strong, more than I had ever felt from him before.

I placed my hands on either side of his face and kissed him gently on the lips. "Eric, I love you. I could not hate you for this. When de Castro stabbed me and you told me I could not be saved, I only thought of you. I could not face you ending your life for me. I wanted more time with you, I had only just married you and my life with you had been taken from me. It was a simple decision for me. You are all that matters, you are my everything, my all. There is nothing to forgive. This is my choice, Eric. I need you."

We kissed each other passionately, and with the advantage of not needing to breath our kiss went on and on until we heard a knock at the door. I was quite content to ignore it and carry on kissing my husband, but it was Eric who broke off our kiss. "Sookie, that's Pam. She's been almost as worried about you as I've been. She is excited at having a sister!"

I smiled at the thought of Pam being my sister. It seemed like a rather odd situation though being that I was also Eric's wife. I hoped that she would not resent my relationship with Eric. Eric was up getting dressed and passed me some underwear and a red cashmere dress, black tights and black knee-high boots. Once dressed Eric answered the door and allowed Pam into the room. She also looked even more beautiful than ever, and after regarding me to make sure all was safe she flew towards me and wrapped her arms around me.

"Sookie, I'm so pleased that you're now vampire. Eric has been a mess these last two days waiting for you to rise. I'm happy for you both. You will make an excellent vampire." She smiled at her maker who gave her a light hearted growl. "There are many people keen to know that you are well. Amelia in particular has already phoned me twice tonight. You should call her." She handed me a piece of paper with Amelia's New Orleans number on it.

"Thank you Pam, its great to see you as well. And I look forward to being your sister." I hugged her again, and arm in arm we turned to Eric. "So Master, what is next?"

"Sookie, you are my wife. I assure you that you do not need to call me Master. And to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure I would be able to compel you in the way I can Pam."

"Of course, _Master_." I smirked at him. He raised an eyebrow at me, and I could feel a pressure at my mind urging me to sit on the floor. As I was aware he was doing it I was able to ignore him, to not give in. I was not sure that if I did not know he was trying to compel me to do something that I would not know it to be a compulsion of my own. Before I knew it Pam had sat down on the floor and was looking up at me. Eric was smiling.

"It seems, my love, that you are quite able to ignore my compulsion. Niall told us that this would happen. You remain my bonded and wife, you are my equal even though you are over a thousand years younger than I." He took me into his arms and I savoured the closeness to him. I was also feeling hungry again. "Lover, I can feel your hunger. Do you wish to have another True Blood or would you like to try a donor?"

The thought of actually drinking from a human was a little odd, particularly as it was strange to think of myself as anything other than human. I nodded shyly to the second option.

"It's okay Sookie. I will not let you hurt anyone, I will show you what to do. You will not hurt them, I promise."

Pam had left the room and came back in with a brunette woman of about my age. She had bite marks on her neck already, so I assumed she was a seasoned professional at this. I could smell and hear her blood and it was quite intoxicating. I could not keep my eyes of her. I could still hear her thoughts, and she was thinking about how well she was being paid to do this. I was quite pleased to hear that she found Pam and I very attractive; she did not take any notice whatsoever of Eric.

As I stared into her eyes I found myself willing her to sit down next to me, which she did instantly. She sat close to me and bared her neck to me. The sound of her blood pulsing around her body was mesmerising, and I wanted nothing more than to bite her. Although Eric and Pam were still in the room, my sole focus was her. I leaned in to her neck and smelt her blood. I licked her neck, then in the bite marks that were already over her pulsating artery I sunk my fangs into her, drawing the blood from her deeply.

It was one of the best tastes I'd ever tasted, second only to Eric's blood. I knew I thought this just because she was my first, but she truly did taste divine. The blood was rich and nourishing, sweet and warm. I could feel a dribble down my cheek as I was certainly not as neat as Pam or Eric could be, but I was proud of myself that I was able to do this by myself. I took two more draws from her pulsating artery and then drew back. Some sixth sense had told me that I'd had enough. And although I could probably still drink more, I was fairly sure that this woman could provide me with no more without risk to her.

She got up and nodded to Eric, Pam and I before leaving the room. I looked to Eric and Pam who were both bursting with pride.

"Sookie, you're fantastic!" Pam got up to hug me, and I could feel Eric's love and pride. "How did you find that? There's nothing quite like drinking it fresh from the source."

"It was odd, I almost instinctively knew what to do, and I somehow knew when to stop. Is that right?"

"Sookie, that was perfect. You will be a natural vampire. There are some that do not take to it easily, but it seems unlikely you will have that problem. Come let us head upstairs, the Queen is keen to meet you."

Eric took my arm and we left the room. I was apprehensive about meeting other vampires than Eric and Pam, but also quite excited to get on with my new existence. As we exited the room I took in the vampire guards that were guarding the door to our suite, and they both bowed their heads respectively, referring to Eric and I as King and Queen. Now that really was odd. Eric took my hand and led us upstairs and into the foyer I had previously been in with de Castro. My anxiety built further when we headed towards the elevator that led to de Castro's former office, and I stopped dead in my tracks.

"No, Eric, I can't go up there. There's probably still a blood stain on the floor. Its where I died. I can't do it. Eric, please." I was begging him, I did not want to go up there. He stood in front of me and lifted my head up to his. I could feel a bloody tear run down my face. He wiped it from my face and licked it off his thumb.

"Sookie, it's okay, I promise. The room is completely different. The Queen has completely refurbished the place since taking over de Castro's kingdom. I assure you you have nothing to be concerned about. I promise it will all be okay."

I could feel Eric's sincerity yet he was not forcing me to do this. I shut my eyes to compose myself, took an unnecessary breath and started walking towards the elevator with Eric's hand in my own. I was almost trembling with fear yet having Eric by my side allowed me to walk into that office. As we approached the office the doors were opened by the vampire guard and we were ushered into the room. It was completely different, the formerly red and gold had been replaced by a rich cream carpet, with walls of a soft coffee colour, the room accented by pale pink fabrics. It was much more feminine than previous.

As we walked in the Queen got up from behind her desk and walked towards Eric, Pam and I. She was shorter than me and looked of Spanish or Portuguese decent. She was dressed simply in a black pant suit that complemented her dark good looks, her hair glossy around her shoulders. Eric introduced me to her.

"Sookie, it is nice to meet you. I'm truly sorry for what the King did to you, but it is good to see you as vampire. I hope that it will suit you well."

"Thank you, your majesty." I bowed slightly as I said so, but she let out a heart laugh.

"Sookie, my dear, you do not need to bow to me. You are royalty too. Eric, you have a good one here, she really is very sweet."

Eric smirked at me and gave me a wink. "I said the same to her when we first met. She told me she wasn't really." He turned to me and kissed me softly on my head. It was strange to think back to those first days all those years ago when we met in Fangtasia. I had been instantly captivated by him, but I was loyal to Bill and told Eric I was his, even though I wasn't really.

We were interrupted by another vampire walking into the room. He was as tall and broad as Eric, and had a slightly darker shade of blonde hair but his eyes were a much lighter, ice blue with a dark blue line on the outside edge to distinguish his iris from the whites of his eyes. He was beautiful in a different way to Eric, but equally as handsome. His eyes were also upon mine and I could not pull mine away, even with Eric stood next to me.

It was Eric who pulled me out of my trance when he stepped forward to shake the stranger by the hand and pull him into a half hug as they both slapped each other on the back. This was the friendliest I had ever seen Eric with another vampire, and I wondered who it was that could get this kind of reaction out of my Viking. Eric turned back to me, love in his eyes.

"Sookie, my love, I would like to introduce you to Gunnar. He is my brother."

What the...? Brother? I was quite sure he didn't mean biological brother but that they shared the same maker. I was staring at them both, my mouth wide open. Eric smiled a genuine smile, slapped Gunnar on the back and brought him closer to me.

"Gunnar is my younger brother, Appius made him around fifty years after me. We are both Viking warriors. He has lived in Mariana's court for many years and helped me rescue you. I owe him a lot for the service he has done."

"Brother, I would gladly do whatever it takes to rescue such a beautiful woman. I can understand why you were so anxious to rescue her, she is quite breathtaking." He turned to face me, and he gave a strange half smile. "I am pleased that you decided to become vampire. I had a bonded once who chose not to be turned, and she was taken from me. I would not have wanted to see Eric go through the same."

His eyes were intent on mine, his accent slightly thicker than Eric's. As he told me about his lost bonded I felt like my heart would break. Was I really that close to doing that to Eric? He has shown emotion in his eyes when he told me that, but as he regained his composure the moment was lost. Eric felt my emotions spike as Gunnar spoke to me, and moved to place a reassuring arm around my shoulder. Just his touch was enough to comfort me, and he pushed love through the bond. I smiled up at Eric and leaned my head against his arm.

We all said our goodbyes to the Queen as we were leaving at first dark the following night, thanking her for her help and hospitality, and the four of us headed back down to our room. I walked arm in arm with Pam while Eric and Gunnar walked behind us. I felt strangely at ease, much more natural than I ever assumed I would be. We reached our suite and sat down in the living area. I heated us all a True Blood and handed them around.

After accepting his drink, Gunnar turned to my husband. "Eric, if its okay I would like to accept your offer."

Eric smiled, and I looked from Eric to Gunnar and back again, was anyone going to explain?

"Sookie, as King I have numerous positions to fill within my Kingdom. I will leave many the same as under de Castro, but some need to change. Pam will be one of my lieutenants, and I had offered Gunnar to be my other. It seems that he has just accepted. I have offered New Orleans to Rasul, who has been very loyal to me since de Castro's take over of the state which he was accepted, and Bill will become investigator for the state."

Wow, he really sounded very organised. I wondered what my role would be within his organisation, or whether I was just the trophy wife. Of course, as I was still telepathic I was quite certain they would want to use my skills at times, and I wondered if over the years my telepathy would extend to vampires as well. Eric had told me that it took a few hundred years before he could fly, so I pondered on whether I would gain any talents like that. I was quiet in thought before I noticed that all three vampires were staring at me.

"What?"

"Sookie, you were quite lost in thought, is all okay? Your emotions were all over of the place."

I didn't really want to have this conversation with Pam and Gunnar present, but I had no choice as I knew Eric would not let it go. "I was just wondering what my role would be."

He raised an eyebrow "I wouldn't have thought you would want a role. You've always been so independent and not wanted to be involved in vampire politics. And you a vampire of only a few days old, most politicians are much older. I would not want to drag you into that world. But if you want a role I can certainly find a use for your skills." He winked at me, and I smiled back, but I wasn't completely happy with his response. "Sook, we spoke before you were turned about opening a new venture, that can still go ahead. Just because you are now vampire does not mean that things have to change on that front. I want you to have a life and friends as you did before."

I had certainly liked the idea of opening a wine bar or restaurant before, although I had a suspicion it wouldn't be as easy as Eric anticipated, even with the King's help.

I sat quietly as Gunnar and Eric caught up, I laughed at the stories that they told of each other. I was happy to see Eric so happy, and had a feeling he would be well suited to his position as King. After a little while I began to feel a strange pull on me, and after looking at the clock I realised it must be the approaching sun. As I was a very young vampire I needed more sleep than the older ones, so when I felt I could be awake no longer I bid goodnight to Pam, Eric and Gunnar, giving Eric a gentle kiss on the lips as I passed.

I slipped into the bedroom and changed back into my silk nightdress and crawled into bed. I'd had an interesting first night as an immortal, and I looked forward to many more. Just before sleep took me Eric got into bed next to me and wrapped his arms around me. I felt safe and loved against his chest and I dropped back into death as the sun rose.


	15. Chapter 15

I awoke the next evening to find Eric on his side watching me. He smiled down at me and kissed me gently on the lips. His eyes were as blue as I'd ever seen them, and I could not believe I'd missed the depth of blue in them. He was incredibly good looking and handsome, and I could not believe that he was all mine, and now all mine for eternity. I kissed him back hard on his mouth and ran my hand along his bare chest, my fangs slipping down as I did so. I pulled myself closer to him and ran my fangs along his neck and down his collar bone as he moaned in pleasure. I nicked his skin slightly, allowing a trickle of blood to roll down his chest which I greedily lapped up. He growled and rolled on top of me, his weight full on me but very welcome.

"My love you are a tease. I'm afraid that we have time for you to feed but we then must leave to catch our flight back to Louisiana. I've already packed. Go have a quick shower and I'll your breakfast ready for you. Are you up for donor blood again?"

He stood up and held out his hand to me pulling me up. I found it somewhat disturbing calling a human being breakfast, but I was vampire now and incredibly hungry. I had no idea how they survived on the bottled blood, it was horrid. It was the difference between highly processed sandwich beef and a juicy fillet steak. I nodded to Eric's question, and quickly went to the shower before getting dressed. I surprised myself in how quickly I was able to move, and found I was able to do everything I needed in a much shorter time than it would have taken had I been human.

Once dressed I placed the few remaining items into one of the cases Eric had got from somewhere and headed back into the main room. When I walked in I was greeted by Eric drinking from a tall blonde male of around thirty, and sat on the sofa was a twenty-something year old who was obviously for me. She was thinking at how nervous I looked and I quickly got my facial expression under control. I did not know what the correct procedure was here, and since Eric was feeding I simply walked over to her.

"Hi, I'm Sookie, nice to meet you," She seemed stunned that I would talk to her, but my Southern manners meant that I could not be rude to someone who was about to be my breakfast. She smiled back at me and I moved her hair away from her neck, allowing me access to her neck. I could feel Eric's eyes on me, and he was sending me encouragement and confidence through our bond. He obviously wanted me to do this on my own, and I appreciated his confidence in me.

I sat down on the seat close to her, the sound and smell of her blood calling to me. She was watching Eric and wishing that he was the one biting her, and her thoughts turned to sex with him so I quickly raised my shields so I wasn't tempted to hurt her. I moved closer and bit with more grace and ease than last time, allowing her warm blood spill into my mouth. She didn't taste as nice as the girl the night before, and I wondered whether this was down to her blood type. I had to concentrate to keep my shields raised as being this close to her while concentrating on not draining her was taking a lot of effort. When I sensed I'd had enough I withdrew and licked her neck, partly wanting to capture the dribble of blood that had escaped her wound, and partly to heal her wounds for her. I was not sure if it was the done thing or not, but it seemed only right.

When I was satiated I turned to face Eric who was beaming with pride and he dismissed the two donors with a booming, authoritative voice as they scurried out of the room. He took me into his arms and held me briefly.

"We must go, my love, or we'll miss our plane." He grabbed the bags and we headed out of the room and up to the foyer where Pam and Gunnar were stood and intense in conversation.

Pam looked to me and smirked at me, "Good breakfast?" I knew she was going to enjoy ribbing me on this considering how squeamish I'd always been about her and Eric feeding. "Sookie, you really do suit being a vampire. I look forward to training you in our ways and customs. For instance scaring the well our of the vermin at Fangtasia."

I laughed at her but I was apprehensive about going back to Louisiana and into my old life, seeing the people who knew me before. Eric and Pam never had that problem, they were both made vampire and taken far away from their families and friends. I was going to have to face the people who knew me as human Sookie, though some such as Amelia would be okay with it. But maybe I could have some fun with it, I couldn't wait to see Arlene! And then there was Sam. I had not yet told Eric about what de Castro had told me, though decided to wait for the plane where Eric would be unable to do anything rash.

Eric gave me a reassuring hug and the four of us left to head to the airport. Gunnar was going to come back with us for now and stay in one of the rooms upstairs until he could look for a place for himself. Eric had told me that he was planning to run his kingdom from Shreveport, but that he would still have the palace in New Orleans, which we would have to visit at times. I certainly hoped that was the case as I loved our home in Shreveport, but I think I could have been convinced that a change of location would have done me good.

The four of us travelled in a Limo to the airstrip where we boarded what was now Eric's private plane, since he was King of Louisiana. I knew Eric had been wealthy before, but this was a level of power and wealth that I would not be able to get used to. As we settled on board the hostess nervously handed us out True Bloods and I went for a B- this time, which was okay but not as nice as the B+. It seemed each vampire had their own personal favourite flavour of blood. I found myself wondering if I could try a human who was rhesus B+ before I got slightly grossed out by my thought.

As we took off Eric pulled me onto his lap and I relaxed into him, enjoying his manly scent and the comfort of being so close to him. I realised I did not think I would ever be able to handle being away from my vampire husband, being so closely bound to him through vampire marriage, human marriage, the bullet and now as my maker. I knew that my happiness depended on him as his did mine, a thought I found slightly scary considering the length of time we now could spend together.

Pam was ribbing Gunnar and getting him to recount stories of Eric's and his youth – it was evident she was looking for any kind of ammunition she could use against Eric. Unfortunately for her Gunnar was not playing ball and simply telling stories of the both of them, or their maker. He sounded an evil vampire, and though I knew times were different then I was fairly certain I did not want to ever meet him. After a while I slid of Eric's lap and picked up a book while he opened his laptop and started pounding away at the keys. I absently wondered whether they made extra strong keyboards for vampires as considering the pace and force he was going on the keys I was certain an average laptop would not last long.

After a while, I plucked up the courage to tell my fellow vampires what de Castro had told me.

"Eric, I need to tell you something," he stopped what he was doing and looked at me, cocking an eyebrow expectantly. I was sure he could feel my turmoil but he did not say anything. "When de Castro had me in his office he let is slip that it was Sam who told him about our marriage."

"The fucking Shifter? I will fucking kill him!" I tenderly placed my hand on his arm and sent as much love and calm to him as I could, but he was furious. I was pleased to see that his laptop was still in one piece. "Seriously, Sookie, please tell me you're not defending him?"

"Of course I'm not, he got me killed after all. But I'd still rather you didn't kill him over this, I'm sure he didn't intend for this to happen, but nonetheless he betrayed both of us. Will you promise that you won't kill him, but rather kick him out of the state. Do you have that kind of power over weres and shifters? And I want to speak to him. Will you come with me?"

He kissed me on the head. "That you still have your compassion is commendable, even if you are being too kind to him. As vampire king I don't have any real authority over shifters, but if he has any knowledge of what is good for him then he will leave Louisiana and never come back. It is for you that I am letting him live, I can assure you that otherwise he would be dog food. I need to exert authority in this kind of situation as otherwise I will look weak. You understand that don't you?"

"Of course, Eric, I have no thoughts about letting him get away with this. But I'm worried about going back to Bon Temps now that I'm a vampire. I know I shouldn't care about what people will think, but being that I can hear them its going to be difficult to ignore them."

He moved to kneel on the floor between my legs and pulled me close to him. "My Queen, if I could prevent people from thinking those things about you I would. I would do anything for you. I will be by your side, and if you wish we can take Pam and Gunnar along with us, show a united front. The shifter will not know what has hit him." I leaned to kiss him gently on the lips, but he pulled me into a much deeper kiss, one I felt from my lips right down to my toes and it gave me butterflies in my stomach. I was hungry for him, I needed him and I'd quite happily have had him then and there had Pam not cleared her throat in an overly-dramatic manner.

"Excuse me, you two, there are others of us on this plane. And although we would both love to see you to at it like rabbits, I suspect, Sookie, that you would not be too happy about that." It was my turn to growl at Pam and Eric and Gunnar laughed loudly as Pam seemed slightly taken aback by my act of aggression towards her, but she soon joined in the laughing skipping over to me and pulling me into a tight hug.

"My sister, you are every bit as perfect as I hoped you would be. You truly are Eric's child as well."

For the rest of the flight back Pam and I gossiped about various things as she filled me in on many of the other vampires who lived in the area. It was details I had never even thought to ask before, and I realised I had never truly understood the nature of the job Eric did as sheriff of area 5. I imagined this was going to get a whole lot more complicated now that he was king.

Once we arrived in Shreveport we were met by a large limo to take us all back to our home. I had mixed feelings about being here, and in particular the cottage that I had loved so much now would remind me of being kidnapped by de Castro the night before he murdered me. We arrived at the house and I noticed there seemed to much more security then before. A new guard station had been built by the main gates and there were certainly more guards than before.

We rode up the gravel drive to the house and entered into the house. Eric showed Gunnar up to one of the guest bedrooms upstairs and Pam and I headed into the kitchen to heat up a few bloods. I noticed immediately that a lot of the 'human' elements of the kitchen had been removed. There cooker was still there, and there were a few basics if we were to entertain human guests, but all the food had been removed and the fridge was now fully stocked with blood of various varieties. I noticed that there seemed to plenty of B+, and I wondered when Eric had arranged this. It was very thoughtful of him.

As I heard Eric and Gunnar coming back down the stairs I heated them both a blood and handed them to them as they entered the kitchen. Eric kissed my hand gratefully as he accepted his drink.

"Sookie, even as a vampire you are still the sweet, thoughtful Southern Belle. You are truly magnificent. However, I don't know about you, but I'm feeling a little tired. Would you care to retire with me, my wife?"

It was still a few hours before sunrise, but I certainly got the hint as to his meaning. We took our leave of Pam and Gunnar and both almost ran down the stairs to our bedroom. It was much as we had last left it, some of Eric's clothes still on the floor from when he was trying on his wedding suit. I hoped that my dress was still intact following de Castro's raid on the cottage as I intended to recreate that night with Eric without the interruption of the former king.

When I reached the bed I stopped and stared up into this eyes. The look was pure love with an under note of lust, and I hoped that my eyes matched his as it was exactly what I felt.

"Eric, I love you. I want to apologise to you for ever doubting that I would not want to be vampire, that I would not want to spend eternity with you. I still stand by the fact that I don't think I'd have wanted to be turned for the sake of being turned, but I am sorry that I said I never wanted to be with you. After what Gunnar said about his lost bonded I would never have wanted you to go through that."

"Gunnar is the reason I knew I would not be able to survive without you. I saw what his bonded's death did to him first hand and he was not closely bound as we were. For many years I made sure that he did not meet the sun; that he was safe when daylight was approaching. I could not have survived once you passed, even before we married. I loved you from day one, I was fascinated by you, I knew you were something special for me. I never want to be apart from you, no matter what we go through, know that I love you and will never hurt you."

"As I love you, my King."

He picked me up in his arms and carried me into the bathroom, turning on the hot water and once full we both climbed in. He sat behind me and rubbed his hands over my back, neck and shoulders giving me a deep massage that felt both erotic and relaxing at the same time. I leaned back into him and rubbed myself against him, causing his already hard dick to twitch at the close contact. He moaned into my ear and ran his hands over my body, stopping to pay attention to my nipples and he nibbled on my shoulder. When he drew blood I let out a guttural moan and I spun around his arms, pinning him to the back of the tub sending water everywhere.

I attacked his lips with my own with a ferocity I did not know I possessed. I needed him, every fibre of my being needed him. I needed to have as close a contact with him as possible. I straddled his legs and slipped down onto his hard cock, us both moaning and throwing our heads back in pleasure as we did so. I moved on him, raising my hips and rocking to a perfect rhythm that suited us both, Eric's hands on my back trying to pull me closer to him. My lips re-found his and we resumed our battle, neither one of us prepared to lose. As we moved faster with each other I could feel my release building within me as I could feel Eric's within him. We suddenly moved to vampire speed, sending more water flying around the bathroom but neither one of us caring. It took all I could to keep up with him, but I soon got the knack of it and at the same time we both roared as our orgasms consumed us. I collapsed onto him, shaking from the force of what had just become me. My head was on his shoulder and I could not help myself but bite a little, allowing a small trickle of his blood to exit the wound. I greedily lapped it up and felt his essence seep into my body and make its way through my veins and arteries. Eric however took a larger draw of my blood and I came again, instantly, feeling my blood flowing within him.

I laid in his arms and we softly kissed each other, enjoying the close contact as he was still buried deep within me and had remained hard throughout. After a while he stood up with me still in his arms and him still inside me and skilfully relocated us to the bedroom, where we made love in a much slower, more passionate manner. I'd have been happy if he'd never withdrawn from me, but ultimately he did and we laid facing each other on the bed.

"Sookie, I feel there should be a few ground rules we should set." I was intrigued and slightly concerned about what he was about to say, but tried to keep my emotions under control. "Firstly, regarding feeding I will no longer be able to drink from you for sustenance, so I suggest that when we feed we both only drink from our own sex, you can drink from females and I will drink only from men."

"That seems fair, I don't think I could handle you drinking from one of those female fangbangers that are at Fangtasia. And certainly no sex with any of them." He leaned back from me slightly and his voice took on a harsh tone.

"Sookie, I can assure you I will not be having sex with anyone other than my wife, and neither will you. We are married, you are my mate and my bonded. Sex with others does not come into this."

I hung my head a little ashamed I had said that. I knew neither of us had any urges to sleep with others, but I'd always associated being a vampire with blood and sex, and I knew generally they went together. Eric had craved my blood before as I was part-fairy, but I was no longer human so I assumed he would not crave me in the same way. "I'm sorry Eric, I wasn't suggesting or accusing, I just know that vampires associate blood and sex together. I'm sorry, my love."

"That's okay. It will take time for both of us. Your instinct will be to associate the two together, but you must control that. I also don't want you to even taste the blood of another vampire unless absolutely necessary and you need their blood to survive. It would always create a kind of bond. If you had to drink from anyone, Pam would be your best bet as she is of my blood as well."

"I can certainly agree to that. Yours is the blood I crave. My thousand year old Viking is everything I need." I kissed him on the chin and drew him closer to me, snuggling into his hard chest.

After a while he continued. "Finally, I want you to train to fight. I will teach you as much as I can but I'm going to be incredibly busy over the coming months to establish my kingdom. I have therefore asked that Pam and Gunnar teach, but it will be primarily Gunnar as Pam knows Louisiana and will be more use to me."

"How busy will you be?" I felt a little upset that I wouldn't get to see as much of my husband as I had hoped, yet tried to get my head around the fact that I now had many hundreds of years with him. I was only 28 so I struggled with the concept of hundreds of years, and knew I should not be so possessive or impatient. He had become king because of me, it was not something he had desired before, so I must allow him the time to be the great king I knew he could be.

"For the first few months I'm likely to be very busy. I will need to spend time in New Orleans and probably Little Rock as well. Of course you are welcome to come with me whenever you desire, you are my Queen and partner."

"How much training will I need?" I'd never really liked the idea of fighting, but then I had killed a few people, well, one human, a fairy or two and the odd vampire.

"Sookie, as before, when you were human if someone was to come after me it is likely they may go for you. You are much stronger now as a vampire, but you are only days old. I am unsure how your fairy blood will affect any powers you may gain, but I need you to be trained quickly so you can fight your way out of trouble if necessary. Gunnar is as experienced a warrior as I am, and without doubt the best vampire to train you on such a task. I trust him implicitly and I hope that the two of you will get along."

"What do you think will happen regarding my fairy blood, I mean, I'm now vampire so I'm sure there's no fairy traces left in me, right?"

"You still taste of fairy, in fact now that you are no longer human the fairy taste is even stronger. It is something I am never going to be able to get enough of. As for what will happen? I do not know. I don't know if a part-fairy has ever been turned before. Would you like me to try and find out? I'm sure Bill would be able to help with that one."

I was intrigued to know if there were other part-fairy vampires out there, and secretly quite pleased that I still tasted so good to Eric. I still had a tingling doubt that he may crave the blood of others. "That sounds a good idea, I'd like to know. How is Bill?"

"He's recovering well. You can see him tomorrow if you like being that we'll be in Bon Temps."

"I'd like that. Do you think we should do it before or after I've scared the shit out of Sam?"

Eric let out a hearty laugh and rolled me in his arms so I was lying on his chest. "Lets do it afterwards, I'm sure Bill would love to hear your story."

We made love one more time, soft and gentle before daylight took us both.

The next evening we showered together and met Pam and Gunnar upstairs. They appeared to be getting on very well and both Eric and I raised an eyebrow when we witnessed Pam sitting on Gunnar's lap. They were obviously both distracted as Eric and I had been able to approach them without them noticing us, Pam growling at us once they were spotted.

Eric led me into the kitchen. "Sookie. This is going to be the first night you are around humans and I'm going to need you to be strong to control yourself and also feed well before we go. I have some bags of donor blood here, and I want you to drink three before we leave. I cannot risk you hurting anyone as a young vampire."

I agreed wholeheartedly with him, and once Eric had heated the blood he poured each one into a glass and handed it to me. I drank all of the blood greedily and felt quite full. Pam was smirking at me as she watched my down my last glass and I stuck my tongue out at her.

"What? Would you rather I drank True Blood like the rest of you?"

"Of course not, you are but an infant and you need proper blood. But its just good to see that you are embracing your new vampirism. You will become an excellent vampire one day. Now, I think we should go kick some shifter butt!"

I laughed at her and the four of us climbed into Pam's SUV and headed towards Bon Temps. She drove almost as fast as Eric, but I somehow found that I did not mind that as much any more. And Eric was certainly keeping me occupied, his hand wondering up my dress causing me to moan loudly on more than one occasion. I knew that Eric was just trying to keep me relaxed as I was nervous about returning to Bon Temps as a new vampire, and I appreciated his efforts, even if it was a little embarrassing with two others in the car.

Th parking lot wasn't too busy when we arrived at Merlottes and as Eric helped me out of the car another jolt of anxiety swept through me.

"Its okay, I promise that nothing will happen to you. You have the three of us here with you."

"I know, thank you. Now come on, lets get this over with."

I took Eric's hand and led him towards Merlottes, Pam and Gunnar closely behind us. As we approached I could not help but notice a rather fowl smell. I could smell the blood and sweat of the humans inside, but I could also smell something not so pleasant. Eric seemed to notice what I was doing and instantly roared into laughter.

"Now do you realise why I always asked you to shower after spending time with the shifter?"

"What, that's Sam I can smell?"

Pam too was now laughing hard and Gunnar had humour in his eyes. As we entered into the bar the smell was everywhere, it was of wet dog and was really putrid. I felt like I would need a shower to get the smell off me. I had never appreciated how keen a vampires sense of smell was, and I instantly wanted to apologise to Eric for ever having gone near him smelling like this. What I did also noticed was that the room went quiet when we entered and all eyes were upon us, me in particular.

"Merlotte," was Eric's battle cry as Sam was nowhere to be seen, but certainly close. He walked out of the hallway that led from his office and he visibly paled at the sight of the four of us in his bar. I could tell he was fearful of Eric and was quite sure I could even smell the fear on him. He had obviously heard that Eric was not King of Louisiana. I was surprised that he was still in the state, but maybe de Castro had promised not to give his secret away.

I stepped forward towards Sam and he looked like he might faint. His eyes were wide with fear and anger. "You're now a vampire, Sookie? Jesus, what the hell has he done to you."

I was fuming. I stepped closer to him again, with Eric inches behind me to stop me if I lost my control. "What has he done to me?" I laughed spitefully in his face. "Sam, this is all your doing. De Castro kidnapped Eric and I on our wedding night and flew us to Las Vegas. He bound Eric in silver chains within a silver-lined coffin and he was going to make me his pet. He forced me to drink his blood and he almost raped me." Sam was shaking with fear and I suspected he may shift at any moment. "And do you know what else, Sam, do you? He stabbed me with a long knife right in the heart. If Eric hadn't of turned me I would be dead."

He was trying to back away from me but I matched him step for step. "Sookie, I'm sorry..."

"NO! Don't you dare say that you are sorry. You sold us out to de Castro, you told him we were getting married. You wanted Eric to be killed for that, and I should kill you for that." I felt a firm hand on my shoulder and Eric pulled me to him, pushing calm through me. I was surprised that he wasn't angry, but all I could feel from him was amusement and enjoyment. He was obviously liking the fact that I was doing the shouting at Sam.

"Please... I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. I just … I just didn't want you to marry him. I've always loved you Sook, it hurt to see you with anyone else, particularly a vampire. I didn't know what I was doing with de Castro. Forgive me, please?"

It was Eric that spoke up. "I'm sure you now know that I am King of Louisiana and Arkansas now. And I want you out of my state. You have 48 hours to pack up and leave. I will even let you sell you business and keep any profits you make, but you will not step foot in this area again. I am doing this because Sookie does not want you dead. Have I made myself clear?"

Eric was commanding, authoritative and damn sexy. I could not help the lust that I felt for him at that moment, but he did not flinch. Sam was squirming on the spot but seemed relived that he was being allowed to live. He promised Eric that he would be gone within 2 days and thanked him for letting him sell his place. As we turned to leave Merlottes I spotted Arlene with some of her Fellowship buddies, and all four of us growled and gave them a good scare as we walked past. I was quite sure that at least one of the men may have peed himself as we flashed our fangs at them.

We went to see Bill on our way back to Shreveport and I was relieved to see how much better he looked. He seemed to approve of my new status as vampire, but I was fairly sure he would not have dreamed to have said otherwise considering Eric was with me. Maybe I would try and speak to him alone to get his true feelings on the matter. I could however sense the sadness from him that I was no longer his.

Once we arrived back at Fangtasia the four of us sat in the bar at one of the booths and we all talked like we had known each other for many years. Gunnar turned out to have quite the sense of humour and seemed to enjoy recounting his stories of his early life with Eric, and Eric seemed to relish having his brother there. We had become quite the family, and I was looking forward to our life together.


	16. Chapter 16

Warning: language and violence.

* * *

A couple of weeks after we had returned from Las Vegas I felt like things were more normal. We had settled into some kind of routine at home. Eric made sure there was an ever present supply of donor blood available for me (I did not ask where he got it from as I didn't really like the thought of hospitals going short so I could feed), and when we were at Fangtasia there was always a long queue of willing donors for both Eric and I. He had become very busy with running his Kingdom, and I tired to spend as much time with him as possible, and aided Pam in the running of Fangtasia where I could. Eric found the odd assignment for me and used my telepathy where necessary. I had already established that one the accountants was stealing from him, and true to his word he turned the man over to the human Police.

One evening after our usual round of fantastic wake-up sex Eric informed me that I was to stay home that evening as I had a visitor. I tried to think about who it could be. I'd not seen Amelia since I was turned but had spoken to her quite often on the phone and over the internet through instant messaging. But then I was quite sure that Eric would not have left me alone with her. I was just about managing to control myself around humans, and when at Fangtasia he was quite happy for me to wander off on my own and be amongst the humans as there was always someone to keep an eye on me. Pam was trying her best to get me to scare them in the way that she did, but as she had nearly 200 years on me I was no where near her level. Plus she was naturally a total bitch so it came easy for her.

"Why can't I come with you? Who's so important?" I was getting a little sulky and whining, but Eric just pulled me into his arms and kissed me on the top of my head.

"Trust me, you will want to see this person, they have important things to tell you."

He was being annoyingly vague and had a huge smug smile on his face, obviously enjoying keeping this from me. I tried to peak into his mind, but as soon as he found out what I was doing he stuck up his walls and growled at me, playfully pushing me back down onto the bed and pinning me down. I tried to battle against him but had little luck against the much older and heavier vampire.

"Ah, ah, ah my tricky little fairy, you will just have to wait for your visitor. Phone me once you have finished and I will send Gunnar over to train with you for a few hours."

"Will it be safe? I mean if a human is coming here then I need to know how to react to them..." I was still fishing for information, but he was not buying it.

"My Lover," he purred, "You and your visitor will both be safe I can assure you of that."

I pouted at him and playfully licked his nose. After we'd showered each other, I got dressed in a simple pale blue dress and then headed upstairs. Once we'd both eaten he took his leave and I listened as long as I could to the sound of his car until I could hear it no longer. I flopped down onto the sofa putting my feet up on the glass coffee table and picked up the latest Ian McEwan book I was half way through. I somehow found that even reading was easier as a vampire, and my memory was so much better. I laughed to myself as I remembered Pam telling me when we first met that I was in her 'vault'. I felt like I had my own vault these days.

After about half an hour I heard the sound of a car coming up the gravel driveway, but managed to resist the temptation to peak out of the window. I did scan the area however, and found one human mind and one non-human mind. I realised immediately that it was Mr Cataliades. I went to the front door and greeted him, but keeping a respectful distance from him until he approached me.

"Mrs Northman, delighted to see you again, how have you been." I was slightly taken aback by him calling me Mrs Northman. I had married Eric as a human, but being kidnapped on my wedding night I had never gone about changing any documentation, and since I was murdered the night after that and turned I wasn't quite sure what my official title was. I guessed the lawyer was probably the person to ask. I remembered that Niall's letter had advised that Mr Cataliades would come and see me as he'd split his possessions between Claude and I.

I invited him into my home and offered him something to eat or drink, but was quite glad when he declined as I was still having somewhat of a difficulty around human food. I think it was just that I missed eating, and much as I found blood completely fulfilling, I'd always really enjoyed food before and not being able to have the variety that human food allowed was a little upsetting.

"It's nice to see you again Mr Cataliades, how are you?" I was determined to still be polite and gracious now even if I was a vampire.

"I'm very well, thank you. May I call you Sookie?"

"Of course you can, I'm not even sure if I can call myself Mrs Northman. Your the first person other than Eric to call me that."

"Well that's one of the reasons I'm here. I understand that Niall has told you that when he left this world he has split his possessions between yourself and Claude. I have already seen Claude as his circumstances were much easier. The fact that you are now married to the vampire king of Louisiana and that you're now vampire yourself has made this slightly more complicated, but all is now sorted.

"Niall was a wealthy man with fingers in many pies, as they say. He owned property and had shares in quite a few successful companies as well as other assets he owned. All of the property has been sold as have his assets accept for the few he personally wanted to give to Claude and you, which I will give to you at a later date. The shares I have divided between the two of you and will remain in place unless you intend to sell them, which of course I can help you with. It left him with an cash estate of just over $180 million, meaning your share is $90 million."

I was fairly sure that my mouth was hanging open. Was he serious? Was he really telling me that I was $90 million better off? No wonder Niall's letter said that I didn't have to worry about working anymore. Wow. He continued.

"Sookie, I understand that this is a lot to take in, but we do have some other business to go through." I nodded and let him carry on, still feeling in somewhat of a daze. "I have been speaking to your husband over the last few weeks, and he's indicated that as his wife and Queen he wished you to use the name of Northman. Therefore I have taken the liberty of changing all your paperwork, along with your vampire registration, into the name of Sookie Northman."

Well that was a typically high-handed Eric Northman move. I was pissed at him for doing that without asking me, even if it was what I probably wanted. Mr Cataliades handed me a file of paperwork which I opened to find all my documents neatly stacked together. He then handed me a smaller file along with a pen.

"You'll need to open up some bank accounts so we can transfer the money to you. You also have some credit cards for everyday use." After I had practised my new 'Sookie Northman' signature a few times I signed and dated all of the paperwork and handed it back to him.

"Thank you for your help with this, I had only just realised that I had never really thought about what my official title was as a married woman, especially now that I am vampire."

"That's quite okay. It is my job to help you with this. If there is anything you need from me here is my number. And I don't mind what time of the night you call me, promise." He smiled at me as he took his leave and promised my new credit cards and bank account details would be delivered within a few days.

After heating another blood in the microwave and disposing of the bottle (I was trying to get used to True Blood where I could), I sat down on the sofa and dialled Eric's office number. It was Pam who answered.

"Hey Pam, is Eric there?"

"He's just having his lunch, he'll be here in a second. How was your meeting?" Evidently Pam knew about this when I didn't.

"How much do you know?" I said in a harsh tone.

"Not much, just that he's trying to help you with this as much as he can." She was defending him as she always did.

"But I'm his wife, he's meant to share these things with me before he goes instructing lawyers to change my name on all my documents." I was getting angry down the phone and quite aware that Eric would be able to hear me.

"My Lover," Eric's tone was dangerous and he sounded pissed off. "I assumed that you would be pleased that I had done this for you. It was a lot of work on both mine and the demon's part. And surely you should be happy with 90 million dollars?"

"Eric," I snapped, "That kind of money is unreal to me. What the hell am I going to do with all that? But you should have told me about changing my name. I do appreciate what you've done but you can be so god damn high-handed at times. You need to ask me first. I am your wife." The anger flowing between us was intense, and I heard Eric's door close as Pam left the room to leave Eric well alone.

"You will not talk to me like that, Sookie. I was only trying to help you. Why can't you just be grateful?" He was trying his best not to explode.

"I am grateful, but you need to talk to me about things when I'm the one they concern. Grrr, you can be so frustrating at times. I will see you later on." With that I hung up on him and threw the phone onto the sofa, quite glad that it didn't bounce and smash onto the floor. I could feel his anger boiling over and was quite sure that something within his office at Fangtasia probably had been broken. I was getting even more pissed off at him as I felt his anger – I was the one who should be angry about the situation, not him. Each of our bursts of anger was feeding the other until Eric took the step to close himself off to me.

It was instantaneous, and although I still felt him due to his proximity of only being across town, I mourned the loss of our bond and sank down onto the sofa and burst into bloody tears. I hadn't intended the argument to go as far as it had, but we were both hot headed and stubborn. I felt heartbroken and my mind wondered back to the previous time when Eric had blocked the bond when I thought Eric had abandoned me after bringing me back from the torture of Lochlan and Neave. Why had he done this? It was unfair of him. I tried to probe our bond but just got a jolt of anger from him causing me to sob even harder. I put up my own walls to him which dampened our connection further. I was aware that my face was bloodstained and my dress ruined, but I did not care.

I laid back on the sofa when I heard the front door open. I tensed up as I was unsure whether it was Eric or not, and I saw a shock of blonde hair in a reflection, yet it was Gunnar rather than Eric. As he saw me he looked almost pitiful.

"You look worse than him," was his not particularly helpful comment as another round of sobs took over me.

"He's shut down out bond. Why would he be so cruel?" I searched Gunnar's handsome face and pale blue eyes for an answer.

"He's upset, and being a little irrational. He loves you Sook. I've known him for over 950 years and he's never been an emotional man. You bring it out in him and the two of you are so closely tied that you react to each other in abnormal ways."

"It doesn't feel like he loves me." I was being dramatic, but I needed to be reassured. Gunnar came and sat down next to me on the sofa and took my hand.

"Of course he does. But your comments hurt him, he assumed you wanted to be known as Mrs Northman. Allow him some space, he will be okay. He'll sleep at Fangtasia tonight as he has an important meeting at first dark tomorrow. I'll be staying here so know that you will be safe with me upstairs."

"He doesn't even want to see me? Shit, he really hates me."

He wrapped an arm loosely around my shoulders, "Sook, he could never hate you. I can't imagine any vampire would be able to hate you as lovely as you are."

I was flattered by his comments, but still felt like complete shit. "I don't think I can sleep down there alone without him. Would you mind if I also stayed in one of the rooms upstairs while you're here?" The thought of sleeping without him was heartbreaking, at least if I woke up in a different bed I might not feel quite so horrible.

"It's your house, Sook, you can sleep wherever you want." He winked and smiled at me and I attempted a half smile as he pulled me to his hard body. I could see that he was being strongly affected by my fairy-tainted bloody tears on my cheeks so I moved back from him. He regarded me for a second longer than he probably should have before speaking to me. "Why don't you go downstairs, take a shower and put on some clothes for our training session. I don't think a bloodstained dress is appropriate. I'll get us set up."

I smiled and did as he asked, showering and then pulling on a pair of black jogging bottoms and a black sleeveless t-shirt. I almost looked like the killer I was. Gunnar and I had been training a few times a week since we had returned from Las Vegas, and I was grateful for the guidance he had been giving me. Eric had converted part of the gym into a training room, with a wall for various swords and weapons. So far Gunnar had been teaching me about movement and how to anticipate an enemy's moves. He taught me to jump and land to roll away from an attacker and when the best time was to fight. Eric had told me that Gunnar was impressed with how much I had learnt, and when Eric tested me it seamed he was impressed with his brother's handiwork at teaching me.

As I headed into the gym I did not immediately see Gunnar, but once in the room I sensed he was closing quickly behind me and I managed to dodge out of his way before he could land on me. When he didn't attack straight away I turned to look at him and saw a puzzled expression on his face.

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?" I had no idea what he was talking about.

"I was going to explain to you that you should always be ready for an attack, so I was going to jump on you and pin you down."

I was confused, "Well, I sensed that you were coming towards me, so I moved. It's what you've been teaching me."

"But Sookie, I hadn't moved. You moved at precisely the same time as I did. How did you know what I was going to do?"

"I guessed I just sensed it, anticipated it, maybe. Is that not normal?"

He sat quietly staring at me as he thought. His jaw clenched slightly so that his strong muscles of his neck flexed. He was similar in looks to Eric, and certainly as tall, broad and masculine, but he was also very different, his features slightly softer with higher cheekbones and a smaller nose. But his eyes were hypnotizing, much lighter in colour than Eric's, they were as blue as ice.

"Sook, is there any way you could have heard my thoughts of what I was planning to do?"

I thought about it, I was certain I hadn't heard his thoughts. Eric was the only vampire I had heard in years even though I was now vampire myself. "No, I don't think I did. It was more that I sensed what you were going to do before you did it."

"Well, this is an unusual development that we will need to tell Eric about, once he's calmed down, that is." He smiled down at me. "In the meantime I think we should investigate your new power further and find its limits."

Over the next four hours Gunnar and I trained. I found that with practise I could quite easily anticipate his moves, and even when Gunnar upped it to the full pace of a nearly thousand year old vampire I could still sometimes outwit him. I also started to try and spring surprise attacks on him, and managed to land a few blows on him when he was not expecting it. I could tell that he was itching to tell Eric, but we agreed it would be best to wait until after Eric and I had our inevitable talk, assuming he was willing to talk to me. I ran downstairs to pick up a change of clothes and felt a jolt of sadness run through me at the thought of not spending the night with my husband. I lowered my shields completely but felt nothing from him. I did not dare probe our bond for the fear that it would provoke Eric further. I instead went upstairs and after saying goodnight to Gunnar slept in the room next to his, the same one I had slept in before my wedding.

When I awoke the next evening I was hit by a wave of sorrow tinged with anger coming from Eric. It was good to feel him again, but I was apprehensive at seeing him. I went down to the kitchen to find Gunnar had heated me up a blood while on the phone. He was speaking in Old Norse so I assumed it was Eric on the phone. He gave me a thumbs up signal indicated that Eric was not as pissed at me as he was the night before. Once off the phone he told me he was going to Fangtasia and left without a further word.

I was at a loss at what to do and found myself looking out into the garden and towards the trees that led to the cottage. I had not been down there since our wedding night, so left the kitchen into the cold night. The cottage had been restored to its former glory, the awnings removed and the gazebo gone. I entered into the bedroom of the cottage and sat down on the bed instantly remembering the events of that night. It had gone from being the most perfect night of my life to the worst. And now Eric wasn't coming home because he hated me. I got up and walked to the small closet in the corner of the room and opened it, surprised to see my beautiful wedding dress still hanging in there. I took it out, closing the closet and held it to me, but as I felt a bloody tear rolling down my cheek I hung the dress on the outside of the closet and collapsed onto the floor, my heart breaking all over again.

When I heard a noise outside I quickly turned and bolted upright and saw Eric walk into the cottage. He was dressed simply in a Fangtasia t-shirt and jeans, but I could not look him in the eyes so sank back onto the floor, burying my head in my hands. He came up behind me, scooping me up into his arms and curled up with me on the bed. We both laid there in silence, neither one of us wanting to say anything to make things worse, and I tried to keep my thoughts and emotions constrained.

It was Eric that broke our silence. "Sookie, I'm sorry that I did all that without telling you. I had hoped that you would be pleased by my surprise."

I let out a sob I'd been holding on to for at least ten minutes (one of the advantages of not needing to breathe) and Eric pulled me closer to him, breathing in my scent and kissing me gently on the neck. I rolled in his arms to face him, staring deep into his sapphire blue eyes.

"Eric, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault for overreacting. Please forgive me?" He licked away the tears that were falling from my eyes and pulled me into a deep kiss.

"It's okay Sookie, we can put this behind us and chalk it down to inexperience of each other. We have hundreds of years together, we're bound to make mistakes at first. Now, being that we're down here do you fancy a jacuzzi?"

He grinned a toothy smile at me and pulled me towards the outside jacuzzi as we lost our clothes on the way. We needed to reconnect and that was precisely what we did. The feel of him inside me was pure bliss and I realised how much we needed each other. Once we had swapped blood we both dried off and headed towards the house to get ready for Fangtasia.

When at Fangtasia we were met in his office by a smirking Pam and an impassive looking Gunnar. Pam cocked an eyebrow at me expectantly, but I could tell Eric told her off from the look on her face. She almost scowled at me when she sat down which earned a growl from Eric. She had obviously been none to pleased with my behaviour the previous night and I imagine she was at the receiving end of Eric's rage. Once we were inside the room and Felicia had provided us all with a True Blood, it was Gunnar who spoke up. He recounted the story of how my training had gone the night before, and both Pam and Eric both looked aghast at me. That I could hold my own with a vampire as old as Gunnar when he wasn't trying to take it easy on me was obviously of great surprise to the two others.

Out of nowhere I somehow sensed that both Eric and Pam were going to test Gunnar's theory, and I jumped out of my seat as they both crashed into each other. Pam was sent flying as Eric had more force than her, while I had landed close to Gunnar who lazily put an arm on my shoulder and smirked at Eric. Eric growled at him and the arm was quickly removed, but Eric looked truly surprised.

"My lover, this is truly fantastic news that your training has come this far so quickly. I would like Gunnar to train you with weapons next." His eyes left mine to Gunnar's, " Brother, once you feel she is sufficiently trained with a weapon I wish for the two of you to fight and see if her instincts can work when a weapon is involved. Though I know I do not need to stipulate that she will not get hurt by this, okay?"

Gunnar nodded to him respectfully and Eric went back behind his desk and started pounding on his keyboard. His coronation was only a few weeks away and everyone was very busy organising this. Eric had given me quite a few tasks to arrange so over the coming weeks I too was very busy. It was to be held in a ballroom in Shreveport, and many of the other Kings and Queens were to attend. It turns out that Eric had conveniently bought a large hotel a few months earlier that had been adapted to a vampire hotel, and he was therefore able to accommodate all the visiting monarchs with ease. It made me wonder quite how much Eric had expected from de Castro, but I did not voice my concerns.

Leading up to the coronation I was seeing less and less of Eric. I tried to attend Fangtasia with him as much as I could, but found myself quite often being asked to leave his office while he was on some important phone call or meeting. I spent much more time with Pam, Bill or Gunnar, or just sat in the bar of Fangtasia. I had made friends with a few of the more normal waitresses and even a few of the other area vampires who didn't resent me because I was Eric's wife.

Pam quite often took me on trips on our own to leave the boys to do their work, and although I felt like I was being babysat I enjoyed our time together. On one of trips to New Orleans Pam had taken me to some of the most expensive clothes shops I could ever imagine, and she was trying her best to get me to buy clothes of European designers I had never heard of before. However one thing we both needed were gowns for Eric's coronation. Me as his Queen and wife and Pam as his Second. We entered into a beautiful boutique in a backstreet of the city and were met by a tall dark-blonde vampire. After discussing with him what we wanted he came out with a pale blue dress for Pam and a dramatic red and black dress for me. I knew that Eric would love it since red was his favourite colour and the dress looked truly fabulous on me, complimenting my now permanent curves. I handed over my credit card without even asking what the price was and paid for both dresses along with the appropriate accessories.

When the night of Eric's coronation came I was the dutiful Queen and wife and stuck to his side, smiling and doing everything that Pam had instructed me to do. Eric looked fantastic in his black suit with a red silk shirt Pam had asked him to wear as she knew it would match my dress. I had never enjoyed playing the submissive role when I was human and I was liking it even less as a vampire, but I knew in public he was the King and I was not too embarrass him by answering back or disregarding one of his orders. I still did not like or understand vampire politics, especially as it seemed I was losing my husband to them.

I had hoped that once the coronation was over things would get better, that I would be able to spend more time with my husband, but that was not the case. I had given up asking him what he was doing, as although he would never lie to me I always felt like I got an edited version of the truth and I just wasn't that interested. The time we did spend together was fantastic and usually mostly in bed or in some other part of the house without any clothes on. It was in these times that my love for him shone through, he truly was my world, but I was bottling up my concerns about my feelings of abandonment. We had both learned to shield our emotions from each other to some extent, and it seemed that that suited us both.

I was becoming bored. I may only have been a few months old as a vampire but I was not used to not working, and as Eric was no longer able to give me a role within his work I realised I needed to find a venture of my own. We had talked on numerous occasions about me opening some kind of bar or restaurant so I started to look into it further. There were already a few Supe restaurants within Shreveport, so I decided something else would be better. Eric had once mentioned a wine bar, one that maybe served a variety of bloods for vampires and nice wines and light snacks for humans and other Supes. I did some research on the internet and found a similar bar in Seattle. I emailed the owner, a vampire by the name of Elisabeth who was happy to help me (well, for a monetary price). I developed a business plan and decided to take it to Eric as sheriff/king of the area, booking an appointment with him under a false name.

When I arrived at Fangtasia that night just in time for my appointment I was greeted at the door by a vampire I did not recognise. I gave him my false name and he led me through Fangtasia and knocked on Eric's door advising his next appointment was here. The door was opened slightly and the unknown vampire indicated for me to go in. When I walked in I was shocked by what I saw. Eric was feeding from a blonde female fangbanger dressed in a barely there top and a skirt that was more of a belt with fuck-me heels on. She was sat on his lap and moaning as he drank from her, writhing around on his lap. It was quite obvious to see that he had an erection. I dropped my folder and flew out of the room as quickly as I could, hearing Eric shout after me. I could feel guilt and anger in our bond and I tried my hardest to put up my strongest walls.

As I reached my Range Rover and started the engine Eric, Pam and Gunnar had caught up with me and had a hold of the vehicle, not allowing me to move despite the spinning tyres. Gunnar reached in and took the key out of the ignition placing it in his jeans pocket. I flew out of the car and tried to run away from him but Eric quickly had me in his hold despite my best attempts to evade him.

"Sookie, please, that was not what it looked like."

He had to be kidding. "Oh really, so that wasn't you feeding from some trashy FEMALE fangbanger with a hard-on then? I seem to remember you stipulating that we both only feed from our own sex. I didn't realise that actually only meant me!"

I tried to break free of his grip but I could not. "Sookie, what you didn't see was that the King of Oklahoma was in my office with me, and that girl had been a gift from him. I could hardly refuse her."

I was furious. "Oh that is complete bullshit. Even if the King was there you didn't have to accept her, surely you could have passed her to Pam or Gunnar or anyone else. And it certainly didn't mean that you had to have a fucking hard dick."

"Sookie, you don't understand the ways of vampire politics. Its not as simple as that, I ..."

"Well that's because you don't let me get involved. I came to you today as a surprise. I hardly ever see you any more, I almost have to make an appointment to see you at all. But I'd been working on a business plan to open a wine bar in Shreveport, I had all the figures drawn up and everything. I wanted to do something on my own instead of waiting for you to come home every night. Go back to your meeting Eric, I've had enough right now."

"I'm not letting you go home alone. Gunnar will take you and you can train tonight. I think you could do with letting off steam."

"Stop telling me what to do! You are so frustrating Eric Northman." I walked to my car shaking with anger and climbed into the passenger side. I saw Eric and Gunnar have a quiet conversation and then Gunnar climbed in to the driver's seat and drove me home in silence. My shields were still firmly in place as I really did not want to feel what Eric was doing. I tried not to think that he was probably back in his office fucking that fangbanger.

My training with Gunnar had come on leaps and bounds. He had taught me to use a wide variety of weapons and we had done some gentle hand to hand combat but not yet full on battles. When we arrived home I wordlessly went downstairs to change out of the red and white dress I had worn specially for Eric and changed into a a gym skirt and cropped t-shirt. I had found that wearing this gave me more freedom to move.

I was still so angry at Eric, so when Gunnar threw me a sword I caught it and immediately attacked him with vigour. We were initially being quite careful, but as my anger and aggression grew our battle became more and more vicious. We were duelling, each one of us determined to disarm the other as was our aim. I was actually starting to enjoy myself, and thought that maybe Eric was right that I needed to let off steam. But as I thought about Eric I allowed my concentration to slip on the fight I was having. It meant that Gunnar had sliced deeply into my shoulder and at the same time my sword had stabbed him straight through his arm. I screamed, partially in pain and at the sight of seeing my sword go through his arm. As I pulled out my sword and dropped it on the floor I moved towards him to make sure he was okay.

The smell of his blood was intoxicating, as rich and delicious as Eric's and there was nothing I wanted more than to lick and drink from his bleeding wound. I looked up into Gunnar's eyes and saw that they were glazed over in lust as I was quite sure my own were. He could no doubt smell my fairy-laced blood, and as I went to his arm he latched onto my bleeding shoulder, licking each others wounds clean. His blood tasted better than it smelled, it was beautiful and I wanted more. My fangs were fully descended and I bit into his arm as he groaned in pleasure. I could feel his hard length digging into my stomach and I felt my panties soak instantly as I got closer to him. He ran his tongue along my neck and bit into my artery causing me to let out a guttural moan. By this point I was gone and full into blood lust. I needed him, I had no control over what I was doing.

When Gunnar had finished drinking from me he pushed me onto the floor, ripped off his jeans and t-shirt along with the thin panties I had on under my skirt and he violently pushed into me. As he thrusted into me I met him stroke for stroke and I could feel my orgasm growing. I needed this. My nails were digging into his muscled back and I was screaming with pleasure as Gunnar grunted on top of me. I was close to orgasm when I felt Gunnar be ripped off me and thrown across the room.

I shut my eyes. I did not want to see what was happening. The wave of intense anger that hit me was unbearable and I screamed as Eric grabbed my face.

"Open your eyes you fucking whore." His voice was shaking with rage. As I opened my eyes allowing my tears to escape I saw that his eyes were black with rage. I was convinced he was going to kill me. And it was nothing less than I deserved. I had slept with his brother, the vampire he had known for over 950 years. He threw me to the opposite side of the room than he'd thrown Gunnar and I collapsed into a heap, enjoying the pain that Eric had caused me. He strode back to me and towered over me.

"Get up." I tried to pull myself together, but I could not move. "I said, get up!" He was trying to command me as his maker. I slowly got up and he slapped me hard across the face. "You fuck my brother? I cannot believe you. I came back here to apologise to you."

He paced around in circles his hands tearing at his hair. I dared to look over to Gunnar who was still in a heap over the other side of the room. I hoped he was going to be okay.

I finally found my voice, "Eric, I'm sorry. I-"

"NO! I should kill you for this, but if I did that I will die as well and I am not ending my long life for your indiscretion. And I could keep you in chains under Fangtasia, or in a silver lined coffin. I should at least do that." He was still pacing, bloody tears falling down his face. "But I can't do that. I love you too much. Well, I did." He stopped pacing and looked me straight in the face. "Sookie, you are banished from my Kingdom. You are no longer welcome within Louisiana or Arkansas, and I'd suggest you stay out of any state where I have any friends. Go downstairs and take anything you want with you. I will be destroying the rest. Now get out of my sight, I never want to see you again."

I was still trembling but I somehow managed to pull myself together enough to run downstairs and throw some clothes into a duffel bag. I also picked up a photograph album of some of my favourite photos of him, and the stack of papers that Mr Cataliades had given me. Just before I left the room I also grabbed the box of memories that I had brought from Gran's house. The box that still contained the bullet of our first blood exchange and final bonding. As I headed back upstairs I wanted so much to see Eric again, for him to understand that this was all a mistake, that it was the blood lust that had taken me. As I stalled, I heard Eric bellow, "OUT!"

I ran out of the door and threw the bag on the back seat of my car and sped down the gravel drive. I didn't quite know where to head but knew I needed to leave Louisiana as soon as possible. As I left my husband and my home state knowing I would never come back my heart broke. This was all my fault, I had brought this upon myself and now I had eternity to live with my mistake.


	17. Chapter 17

_I certainly had some very mixed reviews for my last chapter. I undestand that I'm doing something a bit different but hopefully you will stick around for the next few chapters. Here is the next chapter from Eric's point of view._

_I should be able to update quite often over this weekend as its a 4 day weekend here in the UK._

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**Eric**

Appius Livius Ocella turned up two days after my coronation, and he was not welcome. He had always been power hungry, though had been the King of Rome for many centuries so I had no idea why he had turned up in Louisiana. I was pissed at this intrusion mostly because of Sookie. I did not want my maker anywhere near her. She was mine, and Appius had a past history of always wanting anything that either Gunnar or myself had. I was quite aware that I had not spent as much time with Sookie as either of us would have liked, and I was finding myself getting increasing bad tempered as a result of absence from her.

I had tried to include her as much as possible leading up my coronation, and after the argument we had over me asking the demon to change her name without her consent I was determined not to make the same mistake again. The pain I felt following her words to me hurt deeply, and despite the fact that Gunnar had remained in my office even after Pam had left I had sunk to my knees in tears when she hung up on me. I was trying to help her, why could she not see that? Everything I did was for her, she was my reason to go on. I felt like she just did not understand the depth and intensity of our relationship, and I was devastated that she could not be grateful for something I did for her. She didn't seem to understand that as my wife and Queen she must have my surname, and if she'd remained human I was certain that she would have changed it herself. I knew she would not have understood the rules and laws concerning vampire marriage, so I tried to make it easier for her.

It was for that reason that I closed off the bond. I knew I'd be able to do it much easier than she would as I was used to having a bond with both Pam and my Maker, one I had closed off for many centuries. I was angry at her for making me feel this way, for making me feel so weak and I wanted to punish her, at least for that evening anyway. I did not think I'd be able to survive any length of time without her. But I didn't want her to be alone. I trusted my brother implicitly and he had done a great job in training her so far, so I sent him to her. I knew Pam would have just been bitchy at her, so Gunnar was the better option. I felt her probing the bond, but I was not going to have it.

After Gunnar left Pam came back into my office. "Master, I have no idea why you put up with her sometimes. She always has been trouble."

I growled at my child. "Pamela, she is my bonded, wife and child. I cannot be without her. It will take her time to adjust to our ways, I seem to remember you not taking to it instantly. You are not giving her enough credit. She is only weeks old, and she seems in more control than most newborn vampires. And it's going to take her time to adjust from her human life. You and I both had the luxury of moving away from our homes when we became vampire, she is still here with everything to remind her of her human life. Pam, things are very different for new vampires in these modern times."

I knew I sounded world weary, but every word I had said was the truth. Pam nodded and took her leave of me as I continued ploughing through the mountain of paperwork that came with being both Sheriff of Area 5 and King of Louisiana. I was seriously considering getting in someone else as sheriff and also giving up Fangtasia. It was something I had considered before all this happened, and I was thinking more and more that it would be a good idea. It would at least allow me more time with Sookie.

I was meeting with Garrett Thomas, the King of Oklahoma, at first dark the following night, a dangerous vampire I had never been fond of. He'd been a King within this country in its various forms for over 500 years, and although he was still 100 years younger than I, he was arrogant and power hungry. I had already defeated de Castro and I had no intention of fighting more. I had decided even before my argument with Sookie that I was going to spend the night at Fangtasia that night as I wanted to be on my toes when Garrett arrived.

I awoke before Sookie as usual and this time left my walls down. I showered and changed and went to my office to meet with Garrett. He walked in and took a seat on the sofa in my office.

"This will be quick, Northman, as I have other business to attend to. I want Arkansas. It is not the right of Louisiana and you have only inherited it from de Castro because Sophie-Anne married Threadgill before she killed him. I have drawn up the paperwork and I suggest you sign. I am prepared to offer you monetary compensation. I will be back again in a few months time after your coronation. I trust you are well." With that he got up dramatically and left my office before I had chance to say a word.

As he left in Pam walked in. "What the hell just happened?" She cocked her eyebrow at me.

I was still staring at the door that Thomas had just walked out of. I turned to face her, "I have no idea, but it seems he wants Arkansas. I'm not too adverse to the idea to be honest, and I'd considered asking him anyway. This way I have more bargaining power. He could be a useful ally to have."

Pam handed me the blood she had in her hand and I picked up my phone to speak to Gunnar. We both spoke in Old Norse in case Sookie was around. "How is she?"

"She seems okay today, she's only just got up. She slept upstairs in one of the rooms up there as she didn't want to sleep in your room without you. The training went well and I will fill you in on that later. I think she needs to see you, she is not herself."

I could tell that she was upset, and we needed to reconnect with each other. I asked Gunnar to come to Fangtasia and I headed out to drive home. When I got back to home she was not in the main house. I went into the kitchen and heated myself another blood, noticing the patio doors were opened. I assumed she'd gone down to the cottage. When I entered the cottage she had jumped up off the floor and turned to face me yet she did not look in my eyes. The sorrow coming from her was immense and I noticed her beautiful wedding dress was on the outside of the closet. She sank back down onto the floor and placed her head in her hands. It was heartbreaking to see such a beautiful woman being so hurt by a minor argument. I picked her up and held her on the bed. We were both to blame in some part, and although I was not used to apologising I said sorry first.

After a brief chat I suggested we had a jacuzzi together and pulled her outside. Once we were in the tub I pulled her to me and kissed her, gently at first and then much harder. She started nibbling down my neck and shoulders, drawing a little blood which left me growling. Her head continued further south, nipping and licking at my nipples and she surprised me when her head went below the water line and continued towards my throbbing cock. Using her new vampire ability of not needing to breathe she took me into her mouth and began to suck hard what she could and ferociously rub the base of my dick. The sensation of her mouth, hands and the water surrounding was incredible, and it did not take long at the pace she was doing it for me to come hard into her mouth.

When she came up above the water she gave me a mischievous grin. By the gods I loved this woman. But it was my turn to repay the pleasure and I instantly dived under the water and took her mound into my mouth, licking and nibbling, even drawing a little blood when I sensed she was close to her release. I plunged two long fingers into her, curling to find her spot, my other hand clamped on her to keep her still as I continued my assault. She let out a huge scream when she climaxed, and I repaid her grim with one of my own. After she had recovered her sanity she came to sit on my lap, straddling me and allowing my entrance into her slick centre. She moved slowly on me at first but soon sped up as we both reached our climaxes and sunk our fangs into each other.

Later in the evening I was truly astounded by what Gunnar told me of her fighting abilities, but pleased that she was able to come so far in such a short space of time. Most newborn vampires would take years to learn what she had in just a few short weeks. Of course she was aided by having my blood and Gunnar as a tutor. It seemed that both Pam and I had the same idea when we both launched at her, only to find that she had in fact anticipated our move. Pam was sent flying, and I looked to Sookie in surprise to see a smug smile on both hers and Gunnar's face, his arm causally on her shoulder, which did not go down well with me.

After that I tried to include Sookie as much as I could in the weeks leading up to the coronation. Pam had promised that she would take my wife to New Orleans to find an appropriate dress for the event, and when Pam handed me a red silk shirt to wear with my suit for the coronation I assumed she would be in red. She was perfect that night in every way. She looked incredible in the fitted red and black dress that showed off all her assets to their best potential, and I quite simply could not wait to get her alone to ravish her. She was the dutiful wife and Queen, and supported me fully. I could tell from her emotions that she was not over impressed with having to appear submissive to me, but I made a mental note to thank her for it in all the ways I could. I had planned for us to have a trip away together. We were in the depths of winter, so the nights were long and I had booked for us to go to a vampire hideaway in Northern Canada, a place were the sun came up very little at this time of year. I sincerely wanted to take her to a place where we'd be able to spend as much time together as possible.

My plans were ruined by my Maker showing up. It was two days after the coronation and I was still dealing with all the thank yous, good wishes and gifts from the other monarchs, including a helicopter from my old friend Stan Davis. I wasn't quite sure what I would not with that, but I was gracious nonetheless. I was absently replying to some emails when I suddenly had a warning from Pam that he was here. She had never met him before but knew enough from my stories that he was not one to mess with. And he would instantly recognise her as my child. Luckily Gunnar was training with Sookie that evening, so he was not here to be seen by Appius, and could also keep an eye on my wife. He strode into my office like he owned the place, and I stood to greet him, towering over him by at least a foot.

"Master, this is unexpected." I bowed slightly to him. I had not seen or heard from him in over 400 years, but I was still wary of this two thousand year old very powerful vampire.

"Eric, my child, I heard you had finally taken your rightful role as a king within this country. I had hoped you would take a better position in Europe and much sooner, but at least you have something now. This will be the start of your rise."

Appius had never been fond of the Americas. As a Roman he did not approve of modern society and ruled with a firm hand in Rome. He was one of the oldest vampires left around and commanded a huge amount of respect from most vampires, that is except Gunnar and I who knew him better than that. At heart he was a savage and always had been. Most of his other children had tried to kill him in the end, but they never won that battle and ended up finally dead. It was only that Gunnar and I knew better than to cross him that we were still alive. I was his first child, and maybe he was a little softer on me than the ones who came later. He certainly was very hard on Gunnar, and this was the reason that the two of us became so close. Without my guidance my brother would have become the savage Appius was training him to be.

"What can I do for you, Appius?" I wanted him gone. I'd been through too much with Sookie to allow him to destroy what we had with his twisted ways.

"Am I not allowed to come and visit my eldest child on his coronation?" He raised an eyebrow at me and sat down in the chair by my desk. I sunk into my own chair aware that he was not leaving any time soon. "I thought it was time we caught up. Rome pretty much runs itself these days, I thought I would come and spend some time in this country of yours, see if there is anything of the new world I can take back into civilisation."

I let out an unnecessary sigh, this was not welcome at all. "I have to tell you that I was planning to take a vacation..."

"So soon after becoming King? Eric that is foolish. Whatever you need to do can wait a few years. You need to assert your authority and running off is not going to help you do that. You are the oldest and now most powerful vampire in this state. What is it that is so important? A woman, a man?"

At least he had not heard anything about Sookie. I only hoped it would stay that way. "Not any one woman, a few," I tried to be convincing to him giving him no leave to any thoughts that I may indeed be married. "My child is my second and she would be quite able to run things in my absence, I have trained her well."

"I'm sure you have, you were always very fatherly with Gunnar. I can sense that he too is close, is he working with you?"

I was slightly worried for Gunnar, Appius had always had a fondness for him and was very brutal with him. "Yes, he also is my second."

"You keep your family close. I am disappointed that I have not been included in this. Is there anyone good to eat around here? I cannot abide this bottled synthetic crap."

"Certainly," I called to Pam and we found two male donors who we both drank from. I had kept my promise to Sookie that I would only drink from men, and although I had always much preferred drinking from females I wanted to keep my word.

"Eric, I will take my leave of you, but I will be seeing you again shortly. I trust that you are here every night?" I nodded to him and he turned to leave. "I do hope that Gunnar will be here next time I visit." And with that he left. Pam walked into my office as soon as it was safe for her to do so.

"He's going to be trouble isn't he? How long is he here for?"

"I do not know. But I don't want him anywhere near Sookie. That means you and Gunnar are going to have to take some of the flack from him as well. I fear in particular for Gunnar, Appius always had a strong sexual relationship with him. I will speak to him this evening."

"What are you going to tell Sookie?"

I sighed. "I think it will be best if she does not know about Appius. She has always been fearful of him following the stories I have told her of him and I do not wish to concern her. I will have to cancel the vacation I was planning for the two of us, though maybe Appius did have a point on that."

"Eric, you know perfectly well that it is not a good idea to keep things from her. She is headstrong and will react poorly when she finds out you are hiding this from her."

"Pam, I will not lie to her, but I need to keep her away from him. He is twice my age and even though we are bound tightly together he will not respect the rules. And were he to find out she was a telepath her life would be over. He would keep her in Rome and not allow me to be anywhere near her. This truly is for her own good. Hopefully he will not stay long. We just need to tell Sookie that things are manically busy with the new Kingdom and keep her away from Fangtasia. She will understand eventually. I will ask Gunnar to continue to train with her, and as she seems to have these new abilities it may hold her in good stead."

Pam obviously did not agree with me not telling Sookie about Appius, but then she did not know what he was capable of. And with his control over me if he had her he could compel me to stay away, or even try and break our bond. I would not put that past him.

With both Garrett Thomas and Appius on my back the coming next months had got quite busy. I had agreed terms with Garrett over Arkansas and he had pledged his allegiance to me for 100 years should any other monarch try to attack my state. Because of Appius' closeness I had subdued my bond with Sookie so that my Maker was unable to pick it up, and to date it seemed that he had no interest in her. It turns out that he did know I was married to a newborn vampire but he had no interest in such young vampires and thankfully didn't want to meet her.

I did know that she was upset with me at my distance from her and promised myself that as soon as things were sorted and Appius was safely back in Rome I was going to take her on that vacation I had promised myself. I tried to make as much time for her as possible, spending an hour with her every evening when we awoke, and then in the early hours of the morning once I was back. Unfortunately it meant I was unable to date her, to take her to nice places and do the kind of things she expected. Even on Monday nights when Fangtasia was closed I inevitably had to spend my time in the office, just on the off chance that Appius wound drop by and not come looking for me.

The night finally arrived when my business with Garrett Thomas was to come to a close. He arrived two hours after dark with a trashy blonde on his arm wearing very little. We exchanged paperwork, shook hands and then I expected him to leave.

"Eric, I am pleased that this has been sorted to both of our agreements, and I would like to offer you this gift at my gratitude." He pushed the blonde towards me and she took the steps to close the distance between us. "As I'm sure you can smell, she is one quarter fairy and tastes quite divine. I normally do not share her with any other, but I am willing to allow you this taste of her."

Shit. Refusing her would be an insult to the King and would be considered an act of aggression. As we had only just wrapped up our negotiations I had no intention of pissing him off so quickly. I considered I would have a quick taste so not to offend him and then let him have her back. I sat down on the black leather sofa and indicated for her to sit next to me, but she instead sat on my lap. She offered her neck to me and I bit into her soft skin. She tasted very similar to Sookie and thinking of my part-Fae wife got be instantly hard, she began writhing around on my lap when the new bartender came to advise me that my next appointment was here. As I was desperate to get rid of Thomas and his fairy I indicated for him to show the next vampire in, only for Sookie to walk in in a spectacular red and white dress.

She saw that I had this scantily clad woman on my lap, dropped the pile of paperwork she was carrying and sped out of the room. I pushed the girl of my lap as gently as I could and I prayed to the Gods that Sookie had not seen my erection. I called for Pam and Gunnar to join me and we reached her as she was attempting to drive out of the parking lot. Of course she had assumed the worst, but I had given her no reason to think anything else. Gunnar took the keys for her SUV and she tried to outrun me.

When I caught her she was unsurprisingly pissed off that I'd been feeding from a female fangbanger, and unfortunately she had noticed my erection. I tried to explain the complexities of vampire politics, I was going to tell her about the business with Garrett but she cut me off. She told me she had made a business plan and wanted to open a bar of her own. I couldn't help but feel proud of her, but she was so angry at me. I indicated that Gunnar should take her home and train, giving her another opportunity to snap at me. I pulled Gunnar to one side as she got into the passenger seat of her car.

"Please look after her, I have never seen her so mad, and I can't say I blame her this time. I will be home as soon as I can, I just need to make sure that Appius will not follow me."

I watched as Gunnar and Sookie drove off. She was so angry and upset at me, and I had a feeling it was going to take quite a lot for me to get out of this one. I simply had to tell her everything, about Oklahoma and Appius. Pam put a reassuring hand on my arm but said nothing, she knew better than that considering she had been proved right. When I re-entered my office Garrett was still there with a smug smile on his face.

"I do hope I have not caused any problems? I take it that beautiful thing was your wife?"

I wanted to kill him then and there and found my right hand itching for my sword. "She is, and she is upset as we had agreed to only feed of our own sex. She will be fine though." I faked a smile and walked out of Fangtasia with them. On returning to my office I sank into my chair and sat still for ten minutes. Sookie's walls were firmly up in place and I could not sense anything from her. After pondering what to do about Appius for a while I decided I would take the risk and head home. I instructed Pam that if my Maker was to drop by to tell him that Gunnar and I were in meetings with the local weres, and that I would make sure I was available the next evening.

I sped home as quickly as I could, parking my car on the driveway next to Sookie's. But as soon as I entered the house I knew something was wrong. I was used to hearing laughing and swords clashing as Sookie and Gunnar trained, but these were moans and grunts. And I could smell blood and sex. I flew into the training room to find Gunnar and Sookie in my house having sex on the floor. My blood instantly began to boil and I grabbed Gunnar by his hair and threw him across the room and into a pile of gym equipment. He did not get up so I assumed I had broken something. I looked down at my trembling naked wife by my feet and threw her to the opposite end of the room as she cowered from me.

I was seeing red. I wanted to kill her. I forced her to stand up and slapped her hard across the face. I did not know what to do. My hatred was so intense for this woman, but I could not kill her as we were too closely tied and I was not going to lose my own life over this. The next best option was to keep her in the basement of Fangtasia chained in silver. I was King after all and it was perfectly within my rights to treat this as treason. But I could not do this to my freedom loving wife. As much as I hated her I loved her so intensely as well. I knew if I was near her than I would give in to her. Maybe not now, maybe not for months or years, but I would ultimately give in to her. And right now that was not an option. I wanted to be rid of her, to be rid of our bond. Why was I so stupid that I bound so tightly with her? I should have let de Castro have her, at least then I wouldn't have the hassle of being king.

I didn't know what the hell she thought she was doing. Why would she fuck my brother? She attempted to apologise, but I would not let her have those words. I decided my only option was to banish her from my kingdom. And although I no longer held Arkansas I told her to stay out of that state as well, along with any others I had friends in. Being so well known among vampires since Rhodes, once these events were in public knowledge she would no doubt be picked up somewhere along the line and be brought back to me. Maybe by then I would be willing to talk to her, but now I could not. I ordered her to go and pack a bag and then leave. I did not look at her as she left the room and I turned my attentions to my brother, throwing him to the opposite end of the room where Sookie had previously been. I wanted to kill him, he certainly should have known better. I heard Sookie come back up the stairs and stop at the door. There was a millisecond of doubt in me at my actions, but I shouted for her to get out then heard the sound of her tyres rip up my gravel driveway.

I sank down on to the floor and felt the bloody tears flow from my eyes. How had things gotten so bad. Nothing had gone to plan since our wedding night, and although Sookie was quickly becoming a fantastic vampire it was career aspirations that were standing in the way of me having the relationship I desired with my wife. As Gunnar stirred I stood up. I may have been able to give Sookie a little discretion with this but I was not about to let my so-called brother live through this. I barked at him to stand up which he did so in a pained fashion. I picked up a stake from the weapons cabinet and was against him, using my weight to push him hard into the wall.

"You fucked my wife?" I growled in a harsh tone and prodded the tip of the stake into his chest drawing a little blood.

"It was nothing but blood lust, my ancient and her fairy-laced blood. Do not blame her for this. She was distracted when we fought and we both got injured. She is only months old, you cannot blame her. Fine, kill me, but you must forgive her. Brother, you are too closely tied and you cannot survive without her."

How dare he. "Do not call me brother, we are no longer brothers. And I assure you I can survive quite well without that fucking bitch. She is no more to me. I am no longer married. I may not be able to destroy the bond but I know how to shut it down. I have done it before and will do so again."

"Do not do that. I am warning you, a vampire as old as yourself tied so tightly to another cannot survive for long without the other without serious side effects. You will be weakened. It may take years or decades, but you need her."

I didn't intend to let her go for decades, but I wasn't going to tell him that. "You think you can tell me what to do?"

He smiled, "Well, you're going to kill me anyway so there's no harm in saying it how it is. You are a fool if you let her go. You will be destroying both of you."

I was not having this any longer. I brought the stake back up to his chest and Gunnar shut his eyes expectantly.

"No," was what I heard from the doorway of the room, and I felt the compulsion to step away from Gunnar "Eric, I command you not to kill your brother. You will never kill your brother. I do not know what this is about but I can smell blood and sex in this room and a very sweet smelling fairy. Is that what you've been keeping from me, Eric?" I wanted to kill Appius for the look on his face as he smirked at me.

I moved away from Gunnar and dropped that stake on the floor. I would now never be able to personally kill him. Of course that didn't mean I couldn't ask someone else to do it...

Appius turned to Gunnar. "I think, my child, it is time we left and returned to Europe, you can fill me in on the details on our journey back. Appius helped the much larger and significantly injured Gunnar out of my house and I was left alone. I didn't know what to do with myself. I could feel Sookie getting further and further away from me, her emotions strong with grief, pain and guilt. I almost found myself being lost in her emotions, calling her back to me, making everything right again, but my head took over again and I placed a firm wall around myself, blocking her completely. But that in its self almost led me to come undone. Even when I had blocked Sookie before I had allowed myself to feel her consciousness, but this time I would not. I missed her ever present glow within me, and the pain was crushing and immense. I imagined if I felt this way it must be ten times worse for her being such a new vampire and not know how to handle the complexities and strengths of vampire emotions.

After a while it was my anger that took over and within seconds I had destroyed the gym. Pam had arrived and looked on as I created havoc within my home, I needed everything that reminded her out of my house. I flew downstairs to my bedroom, Pam closely behind and started grabbing everything I could of hers and throwing it into a pile at the centre of the room.

"Eric, what happened? Where is Sookie, what has she done?"

I stopped and collapsed into a heap on the floor. I could feel the shock coming off Pam, and she actually came over to me, drawing me into her arms. I appreciated this gesture from my child. At least she would not betray me. With the tears still running from my eyes I told her what had happened, what I had seen when I came back to the house. That I had banished Sookie and been seconds away from killing Gunnar had Appius not stopped me.

"Fuck! That bitch. Its a good job you have banished her as I swear I would kill her myself if I knew where she was."

"If killing her was an option I can assure you I would have done it myself." I almost spat at Pam as I said this. "But it isn't. Killing her would be the end of me as well, and I am not prepared to end my life because she could not control herself."

"Do you think she could?" Why was Pam asking me that? I glared at her.

"Of course she could, no matter what Gunnar said, she should have been able to control herself. I do not accept that it she could not have overcome the blood lust. I will hear no more on the matter."

Pam helped me de-Sookie my room. She evidently had not taken much with her but I noticed a photograph album was missing along with the box of her memories, as she called it. The box that contained the bullet of our bonding. I was pissed that she had taken that as I was particularly looking forward to destroying that, but now I would not have the option.

* * *

As the weeks rolled into months and then into years I realised that I was wrong. The more I thought about what had happened the more I realised it was blood lust on both of their parts. I had personally witnessed another young vampire attempt to rape a human when the human in question was bleeding, and I was quite aware that Gunnar's blood would have been much more intoxicating to her than human blood. I regretted burning all of her possessions as well. I had nothing that smelled of her any more, as I'd had all the fabrics in the house replaced and the rest of it deep cleaned while I stayed at the New Orleans residence for a few weeks. I had also destroyed the cottage, doing much of the work myself the night after she left, but then calling in contractors to finish the job and pave over the area.

I realised in some ways I pushed them together. When she walked in on me and that fangbanger of Oklahoma's I should have gone after her myself, but I sent Gunnar in my place. She was bound to be pissed off and angry at me, but then I was also fairly certain she did not do it deliberately.

And Gunnar too was right. Although I had blocked off the bond completely, and was sure that she had done the same thing I could feel her as she drove away from me. I felt like a large piece of my heart had gone with her and the pain was excruciating at times to the point of pulling me out of my daytime slumber. I had no idea where she was. I tried to put out feelers to find her but no one had seen or heard of Sookie Northman or Sookie Stackhouse since she left Louisiana. I assumed she had changed her name, but how could I find her? Early on I had asked Bill to try and find her, but he informed me that she had hidden her tracks too well. That she did not want to be found. I suspected she was no longer in the States, but where in the world she was I did not know. Bill had left Louisiana two years after she had, I think he missed her as well.

I was beginning to get desperate, and found myself considering on more than one occasion that maybe I should meet the sun. But Pam had been my rock, my constant and looked out for me where she could. She had become a very strong woman and vampire and it sometimes seemed like our roles had been reversed. She took on as much of my duties as she could, but we had sold Fangtasia a few years earlier. I was quite amused to watch it decline without the presence of the great Eric Northman to enthral the vermin.

I was spending more and more time in New Orleans, and after five years I decided to send Rasul up to Area 5 and Pam and I would take over Area 1. At least this place did not remind me of Sookie. When Madden had been living here he'd completely destroyed the luxury that Sophie-Anne had created, but it was now tastefully redecorated with none of the reminders that came from Sookie and I being here before.

Otherwise everything was going well within the Kingdom, and I started to look for another business venture. A year or two after she left I finally got around to reading the proposal that she had dropped on the floor of my Fangtasia office for the wine bar she wanted to open in Shreveport. It was closely based on one in Seattle, and I wondered whether that was where she had gone since she had become acquainted with this other vampire, but after a few investigations, no one of Sookie's description had been seen there. I liked what she had done, and considered it to be of a sound financial sense, so Pam and I looked to build the business to Sookie's original plan and design. It was a roaring success, and within a year we had opened another two bars in the New Orleans area.

But as every day went on I was missing her more and more and the pain was getting worse. Did she feel the same? Why had she not come back to me. I was a public figure. I had always made my office contact details known she could call me if she wanted, but she never did. I slowly found myself needing to sleep more, something unusual for vampires as we normally need less sleep the older we get, so I knew it was down to my bond with Sookie. But what else could I do? I knew eventually this would kill me, but I did not know how long it would be. I was still able to put on strong displays in public, but then of course if another vampire realised how weak I was getting I would be murdered. And that would kill Sookie.

In the weeks after Sookie left I probably fucked and fed from every female fangbanger within the northern half of the state. Pam pleaded with me to reconsider my actions but the pain of seeing my wife with my brother embedded inside her was one I could not handle. And blood and sex were my only distractions. But I did eventually come to my senses and the guilt of my actions made my life even worse. Now I was much worse than she had ever been, and my feeding and fucking had been completely intentional. After that I only drank bottled or donor blood. I was not going to make the same mistake again and I was completely celibate. I began to doubt that we would ever be able to work this out.

And so I started to bide my days for the inevitable end. Sookie and I had both made mistakes, but I knew mine were monumentally worse. I had done everything I could to try and find her but to no avail. She either had to come to me or it would be the end of us both.

I knew I still loved her, though.


	18. Chapter 18

_Thank you for all your reviews and comments, they make me very happy indeed.

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**Sookie**

As I drove out of the gates of my former home I was aware that my life was over. Even if I lived for centuries more I would never be complete. Eric had been my reason for becoming vampire and now a few months later I was without him. As my heart broke into a thousand pieces I could feel his anger surge and I hoped that Gunnar would get out of this alive, or undead anyway. And then our connection was gone. It was different to when Eric had blocked the bond before, that time I could still feel him, but there was nothing there. I had to pull over my car for fear of crashing as desperately searched for some sense that my bond was still in place. All I could feel was that underneath it all we were still connected, that our life forces were tied as one, but all other aspects of our bond were gone. I tried to throw my own shields to see if that would numb the pain, which it did to some extent.

I had no idea where to go, but I obviously had to get out of Eric's areas so north was not an option. He had also warned me to stay out of his friends areas, but I had no option but to go into Texas, at least for one night. I didn't want to stay in Dallas as there were too many memories of Eric and I so I continued on to Fort Worth and stayed in a vampire hotel. I registered under the name of Susannah Hale. Susannah as it was close enough to my own name, and Hale is it had been Gran's maiden name. I would work at getting official documentation for that name, but I had no idea quite how to do that.

After checking in I went up to my room and ran a bath. What the hell had I done? How was I meant to survive without him? I felt incomplete, lost without my bond with him. I was now living my own version of hell. I had never wanted to be a vampire, and this was the reason why, this risk of abandonment. I now had to live for eternity with the results of my stupid indiscretion. Of course, if I could I wouldn't be going to bed, I'd be arranging a date with the morning sun. But Eric had quite rightly said if he had killed me it would have meant the end of him. I had already caused enough damage to him, I had no intention of getting him killed as well.

As I sat in the bath I allowed the water to run over myself, lying with my head under the water. The pressure on my ears was distracting and I allowed the emotion to flow out of me, my tears tingeing the water pink. As I felt dawn approaching and the water was getting cold I let out an earth-shattering scream from underneath the water. I was quite sure everyone in the hotel had probably heard me, but I quite simply did not care. I dried myself off and pulled myself to the bed, fighting the dawn as it approached. I pulled a shirt of Eric's out of my bag and pulled it over me. It smelt of him and I felt comfort in that shirt. I was quite sure that I would never be able to sleep in anything other than that shirt. I was very grateful that dawn took me as quickly as she did.

Somewhere along the line I had decided to head to Seattle. Although I wasn't going to admit to my real name and being who I really was, I had liked Elisabeth and liked the sound of her bar. Sure, I didn't need to work with 90 million dollars in my bank account, but I needed something to keep my head busy. When I reached Denver I realised that if I was to disappear completely I needed to lose my car and change my appearance. I bought some medium brown hair dye and changed my hair that night in the hotel bathroom. It was certainly made me look very different, and would take me quite a while to get used to it considering I had always been a natural blonde. I felt that as a pale brunette I now looked like a lot of the fangbangers that used to frequent Fangtasia. I allowed my Range Rover to be stolen, leaving the keys in the ignition, and then bought a second hand black Escalade, glamouring the salesman into believing that my documents were that of Susannah Hale.

It took me a few weeks to reach Seattle, and once I did I checked into a small vampire hotel at the centre of the city. It took me a few days to find what I was looking for, but I found a small player in the criminal underworld who was could be persuaded (by that I mean glamoured) into providing me with fake documents in my new name. I had also come up with a plan on why I had no maker. I found a vampire bar called Fang Time, which was a little to similar to Fangtasia for my liking, but I had no option but to go in. I walked in and got some looks from the vampires who did not recognise me, and I decided the best way to do this was to make a scene. I grabbed one of the human female waitresses and made a dramatic attempt at biting her, only to be shortly grabbed by the nearest vampire and dragged into one of the back rooms of the bar.

I was approached by a tall brunette vampire who was flanked by two tall males. I tried to look scared, innocent and naïve of the inner working of the vampire world.

"We do not allow biting of our waitresses. Who are you?" The female vampire had a domineering presence and I assumed she was the sheriff.

"I'm Susannah Hale, who are you?" I stuttered.

"My name is Rosalind Howard, Sheriff of Area 1 in Washington State, that being Seattle and surrounding areas."

"Sheriff? What is this, the wild west?" I had always the fact that vampires were organised into kingdoms with their sheriffs as somewhat amusing. I got myself a slap across my face from one of the guards for my insubordination.

"Do you know nothing about our ways? Where is your maker?"

"That's the bitch who bit me, right? No idea. She attacked me, made me drink her blood and then disappeared. I've been hear a few weeks, checked into a light-tight hotel."

"Why are you in Seattle, you don't sound like you're from around here."

It was now time for me to further spin my yarn. "I split up with my boyfriend. We were living together in Alexandria, Louisiana, but I found out that he was a complete cheating fuck. So I high-tailed it out of there and ended up here, I guess I just wanted to get as far away from him as possible. Then after being here for a day that bitch bit me."

It certainly looked like the sheriff had bought my story and appeared to be trying to work out what to do with me. I was aware that the standard procedure when dealing with a new vampire without a maker was to assign them to an older vampire.

"Are you registered?" I looked at her blankly, "I'll take that as a no. Well, you're going to need to get a job, and we'll introduce you to a vampire who will be responsible for you. I have a few that will be able to help you. Are you planning to stay in Seattle?"

"I guess, I have nowhere else to go." That was a little close to the truth for my liking and felt a jolt of pain through me. Rosalind obviously noticed and seemed to take pity on me.

"Come with me, I'll buy you a blood." She led me back into the bar and handed me a O+ blood. It had always been my least favourite flavour, and I made no attempt to hide my dislike of it. She smiled a toothy smile at me, "You'll find one you prefer." I sadly remembered Eric telling me something very similar.

I spent the rest of the evening at the bar, and actually came out liking the sheriff. She seemed to run her area very different to Eric. She was much friendlier, and although I didn't doubt she was just as deadly, she didn't have Eric's elusiveness or arrogance. She had asked me to return to the same bar the next night, and I was surprised when she told me that she would be looking out for me herself. I was a little suspicious that she may have knew who I was, but then she had no reason to know as I doubted very much that Eric would be looking for me considering he'd banished me from his state. I was pleased when she introduced me to her child Elisabeth, the same Elisabeth I'd corresponded with to plan by bar in Shreveport. After proving that I was not a danger to humans and spending a few nights working as a waitress in Fang Time she offered me a job working at her wine/blood bar. I was even more surprised when they asked me to join their nest.

Rosalind and Elisabeth lived in a nest of around eight female vampires in a large house on the outskirts of Seattle, and one of their group had recently left to go to New York so they had a room available. I was initially very reluctant to make friends. I was constantly trying to hide my heartbreak, and the few hours I had on my own in a hotel room was when I allowed my pain to consume me. Doing that made it real. I'd been walking around with a smile on my face the same way as the 'crazy Sookie' of my human days, yet inside I was dark and twisty. I enjoyed the pain, it made me realise what I had done. Sure Eric probably could have been more open with me and certainly more attentive, but I knew who he was and I should have expected it. When we were alone he was 'my Eric', the Eric of the time when he forgot who he was, but he had always been a political figure in public.

I accepted Rosalind's invitation and after a few weeks found myself enjoying living with the other vampires. They all found it odd that I would never have sex, but seemed to mostly accept my reasons about still being damaged by my ex.

One evening around two months after leaving Louisiana I was busily waiting tables on a particularly busy Friday night. I walked up to one of the more secluded booths that was in my section. I could tell that a vampire was sat there.

"Hi, my name's Susannah, what can I..."

It was Bill. I stood completely still and stared at him. How the hell had he found me? Was Eric behind this, was Eric here? I tried to regain my composure before anyone noticed I was acting strangely.

"... get you?"

Bill looked up at me, obviously disproving of my new hair colour. "I'd like a bottle of Blood Line in O+ please, _Susannah_." The emphasis on my name had not been missed. I quickly left him to get his drink from the fridge, warmed it and calmly walked back over to him.

"Thank you." I sat the drink down in front of him and tried to turn to leave but he had hold of my wrist. "We need to talk. I will meet you after work, what time do you finish?"

"One. I will see you outside." Luckily Bill did not stick around for long. At the end of my shift I said goodbye to the others and went outside, sensing where Bill was and then following him for around half a mile or so until we were completely alone in a park.

"Why are you here? How did you find me? Did he send you?"

Bill regarded me. "I don't like your hair, it makes you look trashy." Gee, thanks, know how to make a girl feel he good. I didn't respond to his comment. "I came on my own. Eric gave me your laptop after you left and I found that you were emailing a vampire here in Seattle, so I thought I'd come and see if you'd moved here. Don't worry, he doesn't know I'm here and I'm not about to tell him either. He doesn't deserve you after what he did."

I sunk down on the park bench and I could feel my tears coming on. "Bill, it was all my fault. I'm the one who screwed it all up. I should have been in better control of myself. I knew what would happen if Gunnar tasted my blood, I'd seen that look in his eye once before when he found me crying and he smelt it. Is Gunnar okay? Please tell me Eric didn't kill him."

"Gunnar has gone back to Europe with Appius. It seemed that Appius walked in when Eric was about to stake Gunnar and commanded him not to."

Since when had Appius been around. Eric had not told me anything of that. "Appius, as in Eric's maker?"

"The very one. He turned up a few days after his coronation." Bill's eyes were intent upon my own. Why had Eric not told me Appius was in town, was this what he was keeping from me? I was sure that Eric probably had his reasons, but I was feeling pissed that he'd not told me about it.

I sighed, "And how is Eric?"

"Eric is Eric." Bill's voice was cold and bitter, and his tone was snide. "He's the vampire he was before he met you. Cold, ruthless and emotionless. I swear he's been fucking and feeding from every fangbanger in the state! Lets just say that Fangtasia is doing very good business since the star attraction is back."

And then my heart break even further. If I'd have been breathing my heart would have stopped in that instant. After his reaction to me, he had gone and slept with god knows how many fangbangers? I hung my head in my hands and allowed my tears to come. Bill put a reassuring hand on my back but didn't say anything. I supposed that I should have expected that, and I maybe knew he was doing it, but to hear Bill actually say those words hurt like hell. At least in my fantasy world Eric missed me, now reality had come crashing down in its place.

After I'd calmed down Bill continued, "Sookie, I have a hotel room here, why don't we find some place to be alone together? We could reattach to each other?"

"Are you fucking kidding me, Bill? You come here, tell me my husband had slept with probably hundreds of fangbangers and you expect me to go home with you? Get the hell out of my sight."

"Sookie, please..."

"It's Susannah. And please leave me alone. I don't want to see you or anyone else from Louisiana, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone where I was." I walked away from him, finding a small stream to wash my face before heading home. Did Bill really think I would run back to him? He always had been a bit stupid when it came to that. I desperately tried to rid myself of the image in my mind of Eric sat naked in his office with fangbangers surrounding him, but I think that one was going to be permanently ingrained in my thoughts.

I didn't see Bill again after that, nor anyone else that I knew, so I assumed I'd been forgotten. I realised that although Eric had shut down our bond, my bond to him as my maker must still be there, and although I wasn't compelled to do his bidding in the same way as Pam had, I could always tell when he was trying to compel me. If Eric did want to see me all he had to do was compel me to contact him, yet he did not. I hoped he was happy, either living the life of the former Eric Northman, or that he had met someone else. I knew that I would never love another, that I would never sleep with another man. I had exclusively fed of females since leaving Louisiana, but was now finding that I was able to survive more on the bottled blood.

I found I enjoyed the summers more with the shorter nights, and in Seattle the summer nights were shorter than in Louisiana. At least when I was asleep I didn't have to remember what had happened, I didn't dream of him. He had been increasingly in my every waking thought and the pain of being away from him was slowly but surely getting worse. I wondered if putting more distance between us would help, and after two years made the decision to go to Europe. I was actually slightly upset at leaving Rosalind as we'd become close friends, and I was not looking forward to telling her.

"So, you're running away then," she knew me well.

"I just need a change in scenery. I've loved it here, and you guys are great, but I really want to travel. I'll be back I promise!" I tried to keep my voice as light as I could, but she didn't buy it.

"Susannah, I don't know what you're running from, but have you thought about facing it, or him?" Did she just say him? A bolt of fear slipped through me, did she know? I stared at her, my mouth slightly open. "You smell of him, I can tell that you are his child. I've known Eric Northman a long time. I know that you are his bonded, wife and Queen." I could only imagine the look on my face. "Don't worry, I have no intention of blowing your cover, but you could talk to me about it if you liked?"

"I don't think I can. I've been through too much. I need to get away, I can't handle this any more."

"Where will you go? I can help you. And know that you will always be welcome here. I promise to not tell him where you are. Just let me know that you are safe when you arrive."

It was still winter with long nights when I flew in a private Anubis plane to London. Somehow the distance did help, and I felt better in Europe. It also seemed to help that there were not so many hours of the day when we were both awake, but I still missed him more than anything. There was a constant tug at my heart which seemed to be ruled by time. It was as if there was an elastic band between the two of us and with every passing night the band was stretched slightly further. I didn't want to think what would happen if that band snapped.

After a year or so in London I went further north. I found myself oddly at home in Scandinavia, and I set about settling in Stockholm. I took some evening classes to learn the language, and found that I picked it up very easily. But even though I was only three years old I was becoming weary. I assumed it was down to the bond as other vampires seemed to relish their undead lives. Eric had always told me that vampire emotions were much stronger than human ones, and I imagined it was this that was consuming me. Constantly having to bury my emotions was just starting to take its toll on me.

I wished for peace but I did not know how to find it until I remembered seeing a travel article in a newspaper for a trip to see the 'midnight sun.' Now that sounded perfect. I researched further and discovered that in Svalbard, Norway the sun doesn't set for four months between April and August. It sounded perfect. It was early February so I set about making arrangements to fly to Svalbard, and a plane to pick me up again once night-time reappeared.

I arrived in Svalbard in early March with a crate load of True Blood (all B+) and started to find myself a safe place to rest for the summer. I had fed well before leaving the UK and on some of the locals in Svalbard before I found a cave in the hills. I had been quite prepared to sleep in the ground if necessary, but the cave was perfect. I made sure that I was well barricaded in and it was completely light-tight and then I sat and waited for the daylight to take me. That was the most difficult time. It allowed me hours on end to sit and ponder my existence, to wonder what Eric was doing, who he was doing. I had always been hopeful that he would call me to him or at least contact me in some way, but he had not. As sun rose for the start of its four month stint, I realised that I would never see him again.

I woke up starving at the end of August and downed ten bottles of blood before it was safe enough for me to emerge out of my cave. I headed back into the town, and met my plane to travel back to Stockholm. I'd requested a few willing donors to be one the plane and I gratefully fed from both women. The nights were closing in and getting longer. Too long. I decided to head further south. I could have done the same thing for the other half of the year, gone to Antarctica for another four months of eternal sunshine, but decided it would not be as safe as it was much harder to travel to. I instead went to the Canary Islands. Being a popular holiday resort year round there were plenty of willing donors, and being closer to the equator the nights were only 13 hours long, shorter than in London or Stockholm.

I kept this routine up for six years. I tended to spend the spring and autumn in Stockholm and had made some good friends there and enjoyed the sophistication and beauty of the city. I didn't tell anyone where I went went for the summer and winter, and gave little details away of my life before I moved to Sweden. I was working in a vampire bar within the busy city centre area, when one Autumn evening after my shift I was confronted by three large vampires. They informed me they worked for the King of Stockholm (I assumed they meant vampire king rather than human king) and that I was called for a meeting. I had done my absolute best to stay out of vampire politics, and although I had registered my intent with the sheriff of the area, that was limit of my contact other than paying my taxes.

I tried to escape, to make a run for it but the men had me tight in their grip and they tightly blindfolded me. I did not know what I had done wrong, why was I being captured? I had always tried to stay out of trouble. I was determined not to get myself killed as that would have meant the end for Eric. I was relieved that I was not tied up in silver as that hurt like hell, so I did not struggle. I was led into what I assumed was the palace and scanned the area, but only sensed vampires, so no humans to read. My hands were unbound and my blindfold removed. I was in a plushly decorated room in front of a huge desk, but no one was sat behind it.

"You look better blonde." I spun around in my chair to see Gunnar casually leaning against the wall. He had spoken to me in English and I could not help myself but run into his arms and gave him a tight hug. When I remembered that the last time I had seen him was in the midst of blood lust and we were having sex I stepped back from him. "It's good to see you Sook, or should I say Susannah?" He smiled at me and walked over to the desk, indicating for me to retake my seat on the opposite side of the dark wood desk. "Can I get you anyone to eat?" He let out an evil grin, but made a call on an intercom and within seconds two blonde women walked into the room.

After we had both fed he resumed his seat and sat looking at me. "I wasn't sure if it was you or not, hence the kidnapping. I'm sorry about that, I realise it must have brought back some bad memories, please forgive me."

I hadn't thought of that, but it was a little similar to de Castro's kidnapping of me. "That's okay. I was relieved to hear that he didn't kill you." I couldn't bring myself to say Eric's name, it hurt too much.

"How did you hear that?"

I recounted the story of what Bill had told me, including that Eric was sleeping with every fangbanger in the state. Gunnar looked mad.

"Sook, that might have been the case for a few weeks after you left, maybe even a month, but from what I understand he hasn't even drunk from any humans since, let alone fuck anyone."

I was shocked, how could he have gone this time without feeding or having sex? "How do you know this, have you seen him? Is he why I am here?" A glimmer of hope crept into me, did he want to see me?

"I'm sorry, Sook, I haven't seen or heard from him personally. As I'm sure you can imagine, I'm not his favourite vampire." He let out a sly smile. "As Bill told you, luckily for me Appius commanded that Eric would not kill me, and the two of us left to return back to Europe. Things between Appius and I had never been easy. I owed a lot to Eric for making me the vampire I am today. Appius had always been abusive and cruel to me, but luckily this time he was not so. He made me tell him all about you, and all I can say was that it was a good job that you did disappear and change your name as Appius became quite intent on trying to find you, for a few years anyway until he got bored and moved onto his next infatuation."

He got up and came around to my side of the desk, pulling up a chair for him to sit on. He took my hands in his own and looked deep into my eyes. "Appius came to visit me around a year ago. He had seen Eric having felt something was wrong with his child. Eric is not well. He puts on the public face where he has to, but he is weakening. He sleeps for much longer now and I understand he is in intense pain all the time."

I felt like I had been staked. Eric was in such a bad way because of me? I didn't know what to do with myself. I had not cried for many years but my bloody tears came thick and fast. Gunnar handed me a tissue, which was soon blood soaked. I was still a little wary of Gunnar considering what happened last time, and he did reach to my face to capture a tear, popping it into his mouth and moaning with pleasure. He regained his composure and continued.

"How have you been?"

"It hurts. I try my best to bury the pain, to put a brave face on it, but its getting harder. Why is Eric in so much worse pain than I? I'd have thought that as he is older he would be able to handle it easier."

"It doesn't work like that. As he is so old he is affected that much worse by your absence. You both may have buried you bond but you are still tied together and your souls are combined, and his soul is being torn into pieces by your absence. Sook, I hate to say this, but this will kill him, and then ultimately, you. You must do something about this."

The stake in my heart had been driven deeper by Gunnar's confession and I felt like I was nothing more than vampire goo. When I was pulled out of my daze I turned to ask Gunnar what it was I could do.

"But why hasn't he called me to him? He is my maker after all. And is there any way the bond can be broken, that I can save his life?" I wasn't sure that I would be able to see him. I felt like if I had to see him I would throw myself on the nearest pointy stick. I just couldn't do it after what I had done to him. There must be another way.

"I do not know why he hasn't called you to him. I fear that maybe he is still too proud. But there might be another option." I was listening now. "It's something I have looked into and I understand there is a powerful coven of witches living on the island of Bermuda in the Caribbean who may be able to break your bond."

"Would that save Eric?"

"It is very likely that breaking your bond would allow him to recover, yes. But is it what you want?

"Gunnar, all I care about is Eric's well being. Tell me who I need to see and I will be on my way." I got up, excited that I may be finally able to do something for Eric.

Gunnar smiled at me and pulled me into a hug. "Sook, I'm glad your pleased, but I'm not going to let you do this alone. I will help you with this, I will come with you."

"But won't the king be pissed off if you up and leave?"

He was laughing now. "Sookie, I am the king. And my kingdom will survive quite well without me. My child Vina is quite adequate at running my kingdom in my absence."

I had not realised that Gunnar even had any vampire children, but we continued to catch up as old friends and I realised I had missed him. He had a good sense of humour and we'd always got along well. But we didn't talk about what had happened between us. That was too painful a memory for both of us. Gunnar had set up an appointment with the witches, who had asked me to take anything I had of his. I therefore brought along the shirt I had taken of his along with my box of memories.

We arrived in Bermuda two nights afterwards after first dark and checked into a local vampire-friendly hotel. After eating and disposing of our belongings I picked up my bag with Eric's belongings and we got into a car which carried us to our meeting with the witches. I don't know what I expected, but we met them in a gorgeous beach house. As Gunnar and I were invited into the house my nerves began to strike me. We were invited to sit down and both offered a blood, which we accepted. I was glad that Gunnar had already explained the history of Eric and my relationship and our blood bond to the witches. The leader of the coven was a dark, older lady of around 65 with a head of long, thick grey hair. If there ever was a stereotypical witch, she was it.

"Sookie, are you sure that you wish to go ahead with this?" I nodded. "First I need to establish the depth of your bond. I understand from your friend that your bonded is suffering greatly, so it suggests a very deep bond indeed. Tearing two souls apart that are closely bound can be very dangerous. Sookie, you have what I asked for?" I picked up the bag with Eric's belongings. "What item in there is the most personal, the most important to your relationship?" I knew exactly what I was to choose and took out the bullet that bound us together, still wrapped in its bloodstained piece of cloth. I saw the look on Gunnar's face when I picked it out of the box. The witch looked at me questioningly.

"This is the bullet that bound us together. It was when I first ingested his blood and how we finally became bound together, before I became vampire, anyway."

I was fighting the tears as I held the bullet in my hands and the witch asked me to hold the bullet in my hand while thinking of Eric and our relationship. I could not stop the tears when they came and my heart felt like it was being ripped from my body. I missed him so much, I needed him, but I knew I could not have him. We had both hurt each other too much, both made huge mistakes, but I knew what I had done was so much worse. I hoped that if I did this he would one day forgive me enough to allow me to see him. The witch finished whatever it was that she was doing and I put the bullet back in its box.

"You are much closer bound than I had anticipated, and your souls are truly woven together. But you wish for me to release your bonded from his pain and suffering?" I nodded, searching her eyes for an answer. "I can do that,"

I was thrilled and beamed at Gunnar, who still looked apprehensive.

"But," the witch went on, "I cannot guarantee you will survive the breaking." I think I may have gone a shade paler. "Although he is suffering from your bond, he is older and stronger than you are and can therefore survive this where you may not be able to. I'm not saying you would be killed, but its more likely that not that you would."

I didn't really need to think about it. "But Eric would be okay? I'll do it."

"NO!" was Gunnar's response and he was by my side. "I will not let you do this. There are other options, you could just swap blood, or hell, you could meet up with him." He almost sounded desperate and I was thankful for his concern.

I spoke to him in Swedish, "Gunnar, I'm thankful for the help you have given me these last few days, but I only care about him. I never wanted to be vampire, I only did it for him. I'd have ended things a decade ago when it first happened if it wouldn't have harmed him. I must do this, and there's still a chance I may not be killed. It's okay, really. I'll write a note for you to pass to him. I'll explain it all to him." I turned back to the witch. "I will do it. I'm aware of the consequences, but I will do it for him."

"Okay, but he must be aware of what you going to do. If you did this without his knowledge then he may fight it and that would cause him further damage. You must make him aware that he has to accept my changes when the time comes. We will meet back here tomorrow night at midnight."

As Gunnar and I walked out of the beach house the thought of speaking to Eric was striking fear into my heart.

"Sook, please don't do this. He will not want you to do this."

"Its the only thing I can do. I love him to much to see him suffer."

"But don't you see that your death would cause him unimaginable pain even if you are not bonded. Sook, he loves you. He always has and just because you haven't seen each other for ten years it doesn't mean he loves you any less. If he knew that you had died, what's to stop him meeting the sun anyway?"

Well that got my attention. "But we won't be bound, so he won't need to. He won't feel me at all so it won't matter!"

"Sookie! You are not listening to me. You have to find another option, you can't break the bond like this, it will kill him one way or another. I'm sorry I brought you here, I think Eric may well kill me if he finds out I've helped you with this."

"Well I won't tell him then" I was being childish now, but I could not stop myself. We sat in silence on our journey back to the hotel. Once I reached my room, I took his hand. "Gunnar, thank you for everything. I need to phone him now and I don't think I can do it with you nearby. Would you mind it if you left me alone?" He nodded, kissed me gently on the head and left the hotel.

I sat down at the desk and googled the number for the King of Louisiana. Gunnar had told me that he'd sold Fangtasia and was now living in New Orleans. I was quite surprised to find the number on the internet direct to his office, but I assumed his calls would be heavily screened. With a shaking hand I dialled the number, and it was answered by a bored-sounding Pam.

"Pam?"

"Yes, who is this?" As pleasant as ever.

"It's Sookie." I heard her inhale on the other end of the phone. "I need to speak to Eric. Is he there?"

There was no answer and the phone was put down on the table, but I heard movement and could tell that he was there.

"Sookie?" It was Eric. His voice speaking to me for the first time in ten years. I almost felt overjoyed at the sound of his beautiful voice until I remembered what I was supposed to tell him.

I tried to keep it as formal and clinical as I could. "Your majesty, I'm phoning because I have found a way that can break our bond. I have heard that you have been adversely affected by my absence and I wish this no longer. I am currently in Bermuda and I have met with some witches that say the can break the bond, meaning that you will be free of me to live as normal. I was told that I needed to let you know so you know not to fight this. I am meeting the witch at midnight my time, so 10pm your time. I hope that you are well." I hung up the phone, not giving him the chance to respond to me.

I sank back onto the floor and allowed my grief to consume me for the night for what I hoped to be the last time. I had not told Gunnar, but if the witches work did not kill me, I was going to meet the sun the next morning.

* * *

_Please don't kill me!_


	19. Chapter 19

_Again, thank you for all the great reviews and comments - it keeps me inspired to write!_

_Warning: this chapter may be a bit angsty._

* * *

**Eric**

I awoke that night around half an hour after a sunset as was my normal routine these days, got dressed and walked into the office where Pam was ferociously pounding on her keyboard. She got up to heat me a blood and handed it to me. I thanked her and went into my own office, leaving the door open. She was a huge help to me, and I sometimes wondered if I was just the public face of the state as it was Pam who did most of the work these days. I had long lost my enthusiasm for politics. I had imagined when I first killed de Castro that it would be fantastic, running the whole state, being my own boss with Sookie by my side. And there was the problem. She wasn't by my side. My stupidity at driving her out of her home state, my mishandling of the whole situation had meant that I would die alone. I had done all I could to set Pam up, she was my heir apparent to take over, and she was known to be a formidable force in her own right even if she was still young by vampire standards.

I sank into my chair and powered up my laptop, sipping on my blood. I heard the office phone go, which I ignored allowing Pam to answer it. I heard Pam's unusual response to the caller as she asked who it was. I heard from where I was sitting that it was Sookie. Pam seemed shocked and I flew into her office as she put the phone down on the table, trying to push me away, warning me that I should not speak to her. I shot her a look and then picked up the phone, my hand trembling.

She greeted me with 'your majesty', why was she being so formal? She went onto to recount that she had found a witch in Bermuda that could break our bond, that she had heard I was suffering and that I would be free of her. She told me this was happening the next night and then hung up on me, not allowing me to get a word in edgeways.

I sat at Pam's desk staring into the phone. I felt a solitary tear trickle down my cheek. Pam came by me and wrapped her small arm around my shoulders. "Do you intend to stop her?"

I looked up at her. "I do."

Pam and I both knew who she had gone and seen. Around four years ago when the effects of my separation from Sookie was becoming noticeable Pam had found out that there was an option for the bond to be broken by a particularly powerful witch in Bermuda. Since the run in with Hallow I had been somewhat sceptical when it came to witches, but after six months of pestering I had agreed to meet with the witch and Pam set up a meeting with her. She instructed me to bring something personal of Sookie's and although I had burned most of Sookie's possessions I still had our bonding knife, so I carefully wrapped it and took it with us.

We flew in my private jet to Bermuda and met with the witches. She had asked me to hold on to knife and think of Sookie. I had no idea quite what she was doing, but she advised me that our souls were very closely entwined. I was optimistic when she told me she could save me, and Pam actually let out a squeal of joy, but my mood changed when the witch told me that it was less likely that Sookie would survive. I immediately thanked the witch for her help but that I was not interested. When Pam tried to protest with me she was instantly met with a growl and luckily she knew better than to push me further.

"Do you think the witch has given her the same warning?" Pam asked, though I was thinking exactly the same.

"I'm actually fairly certain that she would have." Meaning that Sookie is considering this even though she'd been told that it may kill her. I had no idea why on earth Sookie would do this. Did she really think that I would want to live without her? I sunk my head in my hands. But if we were going to stop her I needed to get moving now. I could think about things when we were on the plane.

"Pam, trace that call and find out exactly where she called from and get the plane ready to go within the hour. I want us staying in the same hotel. Then pack an overnight bag. I will go and speak to Angelo to tell him we are leaving, and inform the sheriff of St George's of our arrival." I could see that Pam was smiling at me, obviously pleased that I had taken this decision to go to her.

Within 45 minutes we were sat on my red Lear jet and the plane was about to take off for Bermuda. I was actually nervous about seeing Sookie. Hearing her voice had been incredible even if she was telling me that she was basically planning commit suicide to save me. My thoughts went to wondering where she had been over the last ten years. I had done all I could to try and find her, but in not knowing what she had changed her name to it had become increasingly difficult to find her. And how had she found out about the witch? It had taken Pam a long time to find those details, how did she get them.

I could tell that Pam was getting incredibly irritated by me on that flight. I had been pacing within the jet, my mood constantly changing and I was getting increasingly impatient and bad tempered. Once we had landed we only had a few hours until dawn, so I drove us out of the airport at breakneck speed in a rented red BMW M3 and we arrived at the hotel. We walked up to the desk and were greeted by brunette human of around forty. She advised us our suite was available, and I glamoured her into showing me the names and room numbers of all the other guests at the hotel. I wanted to kill when I saw the name of Gunnar Oldenburg, was she seriously here with him? I could not see her name on the register, was she sharing a room with him? Was she doing this so she could be rid of me to be with him? My temper was at boiling point when the object of my anger walked into the hotel.

"Eric..." was all he managed before I smashed him into a wall. "Are you here fucking my wife again? Is she staying with you?" The receptionist was screaming, and Pam, having spent longer looking at the guest list, came up and stood next to me, glaring at Gunnar.

"Much as I would dearly love to see you kill him she's booked under the name of Susannah Hale, her Gran's name." I eased off my grip on Gunnar to allow him to speak.

"Explain why you are here." My voice was cold. I wanted him dead.

"I've been looking for her for years, for both of your sakes. I warned you about the side effects of being away from her, but I did not know the extent of the damage to you until I saw Appius last year. I tried all I could to convince her to come to you when I found her. Turns out she'd been living at least partially in Stockholm for years, but spent her summers in Svalbard so she didn't have to wake."

I was pissed at Appius for telling him that. I did not want anyone to know about the weakened state I was in, particularly the brother that had ruined everything.

"She is here?"

"Upstairs, room 225."

"You told her about the witch?"

"Yes, I'd been looking for a way to help. Looking for her as well. But if I knew the outcome I would not have told her. She refused to go and see you. She is determined, headstrong and very proud. She has suffered greatly at being away from you to the point of spending her summers in Svalbard."

Certainly sounded like my Sookie, but to go to Svalbard? I had to see her.

"Pam, deal with him."

I knew that Pam would not kill him, she would not be able to considering how much older he was than her, but I hoped she could at least give him a good scare. And if he did feel guilty then he might actually let her hurt him.

I left Pam and Gunnar in the lobby and climbed up the stairs to the third floor of the hotel. I completely lifted the veil over our bond and although it was not strong, due to her closeness I could feel her. As I approached her room I could smell her heavenly scent, and what appeared to be the smell of her blood.

The door to her room was slightly ajar and I could see a soft light spilling across the room from the bedside table. I took an unnecessary breath and tapped lightly on the door.

"Come in, its open." She was obviously expected Gunnar rather than I meaning that she obviously trusted him, but I accepted the invitation. She was lying on the bed with her back to me curled up into a ball. I knew it was her, as the scent was right, but she had dark hair. I assumed this was part of her disguise. She was wearing a very large shirt that appeared to be bloodstained from her tears. I recognised it as one of my own shirts, the one I had been wearing the night before she left. She had taken it with her and obviously kept it to remind her of my scent. I seriously regretted not doing something similar instead of destroying all of her possessions.

She finally turned towards me and I caught my first glimpse of her in ten years. She was still as beautiful as she had ever been, even with the dark hair. She gasped at seeing me.

"Eric? Why are you here?"

"I can't let you meet with the witch. I will not let you sacrifice your own existence for mine." I took a step towards her but she seemed apprehensive at my approach so I stayed where I was. "I'm not about to let you kill yourself for me, Sookie."

"How do you know about that?"

"Pam contacted the same witch a few years ago. She told me that although she could save me it would more than likely mean the end of your life. I was not going to do it."

"Eric, I have to. I have no other option."

How could she say that? My voice was but a whisper. "You could come home."

She looked at me and the shut her eyes for a few seconds. "Eric. The last ten years have been hell on earth. I have missed you more and more every day."

"Then come back to me, we can start over. We can wipe the slate clean!" I was beginning to get a little desperate.

"Eric, please let me finish. The reason I always told you that I didn't want to be a vampire was because I feared something like this would happen. I only agreed to be turned because I wanted to be with you. And what did I get? I had less than three months with you and then we go and royally fuck it up. I've spent the last ten years on my own. And I know its been even worse for you, that my absence has weakened you because of our bond. You are over a millennium old, I am still but an infant. If we didn't have the bond you would be able to carry on. You are King of Louisiana, you must go on."

"I cannot go on without you Sookie."

"You can and you will. I am meeting with the witch tomorrow."

I stepped forward and sank to my knees at the foot of her bed. A red tear trickling down my face. "My love, this is not just the bond. I have missed you. I am sorry for what I did, sorry for being absent from you, sorry for not telling you everything. And I'm sorry for calling you a whore, for hurting you, for banishing you from your home. I would give up my position, wealth and possessions if I could go back and do things differently. This is my fault, and I will not let you sacrifice yourself. There are other options."

"Like what?"

I really didn't want to go down this route, I wanted her to come home with me, to come back to me. To be mine again. I sighed. "I spoke to Dr Ludwig when I started to get sick. She told me that I needed your blood as you probably needed mine. Our bond needs to be replenished. For us to both remain healthy we would need to exchange blood once every couple of months. But we wouldn't necessarily have to see each other, it could be arranged that it is delivered between us."

"And that would keep you healthy?

"I would be physically better than I am now."

"Physically?"

"Sookie, do you not get it? I love you with all that I am. I always have done. After all that we have been through together can you not understand how much I love you. This whole mess is because we love each other so much. That we can both be so jealous, so proud and headstrong. We are both blaming ourselves for what happened more than we are blaming the other. That is our love, it has nothing to do with the bond." I could feel dawn rapidly approaching. "I cannot go on without you."

Sookie's own tears were falling, and somehow I was resisting the urge to taste on. I wanted nothing more then to put my arms around her, to breathe her in, to taste her. I needed her.

"I should go, it's nearly dawn. Please promise me we can talk at first dark tomorrow. Please don't go and see the witch."

She didn't say anything. I got up off my knees and moved closer to her, standing at the foot of the bed. She moved towards me and in a kneeling position rested her head on my chest. Her scent was divine and I could tell she was breathing me in as well.

Finally she brought her head back and looked me in the eye. "I will see you tomorrow, Eric."

It was not a definitive answer, but I would take it for now. I left her room and headed back upstairs to my own room where Pam was waiting for me.

"Master, I take it you've talked some sense into her?"

I growled. "Not now Pamela," I snapped and headed into my room, praying to the Gods for dawn to take me quickly.

I awoke the next night to a jolt of Sookie's fear. I sat up immediately in bed. It was half an hour after dark and I could feel that she was not as close as she should be. Had she gone to the witch?

I threw some clothes on and found Pam in the suite. "Sookie's in trouble, we must find her."

"Already?"

"Pam, now. Find Gunnar, we must go to her."

I ran out of the hotel at full pace, Pam and Gunnar not far behind. I dropped my shields completely and tried to locate her. I could hear her screaming in her mind with the pain of whatever was happening to her. I shut my eyes and concentrated and headed to the right out of the hotel towards the beach. I followed her voice in my mind to a ramshackle building on the edge of the beach, but I could feel her losing consciousness. I had no idea what was happening to her.

The three of us burst into the building to find Sookie tied up in silver on a table, her blood being drained from her in various bags around her body. There were six drainers in the room who Pam and Gunnar instantly set upon. It was evident they had taken a lot of blood from her already and she was in danger of losing her life if her blood was not replaced shortly. As carefully as I could I pulled the needles out of her and the silver chains off her body as she was writhing around in agony, screaming from the pain as I ripped the silver tape off her mouth not being concerned that it burnt me. The smell was truly sickening. I turned to see that Pam and Gunnar had disabled four of the six drainers and had the other two cowering in the corner.

I turned back to Sookie, I could feel her life force was weak. I held my arm to her.

"Sookie, my love, you must drink."

"No, Eric, I can't. Let me drink from one of them." She pointed weakly to the drainers but a jolt of pain struck through me. Why did she not want me.

"Sookie, you need more than human blood, you have lost too much of your own, if you don't drink vampire blood right now you will not survive another day. Please, Sookie. I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner. Forgive me."

"Eric, I don't want to do this anymore, let me feed from one of the humans. I only need to be strong enough to see the witch." She had staked me then and there.

"Sookie, this is not the time. I don't want to force you. Please bite me. Or Pam. Or Gunnar. Anyone, just do it please!" Gunnar would not have been my ideal third choice of vampire right now, but if she trusted him I was prepared to let her do it.

My arm was still to her mouth and with my other hand I indicated for Gunnar to come forward, and he came around to the other side of the table.

"Sookie, I can feel you slipping away from me. Do not do this now, I beg of you." I was aware that a tear was rolling down my cheek.

"Sook," Gunnar stepped in, "You have told me how much you love him, how much you care for him and he loves you as much, if not more. Why throw that all away? You came here because you wanted to save him. I can assure you that if you end it all now he will not survive without you. I would fear that the loss of the bond would kill him anyway. The witch cannot understand the true depth of what you have. Now stop being so god damn stubborn and drink from him already."

I was shocked at Gunnar's words, did he really believe that I would not survive the loss of the bond? I had a feeling that he was right. I could feel her slipping further. She moved her head and I saw her fangs descend and she bit into my arm. The feel of her fangs puncturing my arm was incredible, it was everything I had dreamed of these last ten years. As she drank from me I could feel my essence creeping around her veins, and I felt her so much more keenly. I felt alive again, I felt her life force entwine with my own. After a while she grabbed at my wrist tighter and pulled it to her, sucking hard. I felt her draw in my loins and my dick was instantly hard.

Once she had finished she licked her bite marks and laid her head back on the table. I just looked down at her wanting to know what she was thinking. She sat back up and looked over to the two remaining prisoners and then to the blood bags that had collected her blood.

She turned to me. "You can drink from them if you wish."

She was offering me to drink her blood, to restore our bond. I was hopeful that if she was doing this then she did not intend to go ahead with the bond. I searched her face for further permission, which she gave with a slight smile. I bit into one of the bags, her cool blood slipping down my throat. I could feel her magic working within me, and for the first time in ten years I felt like myself again. I drained the first bag and quickly started on the second bag. I truly could feel her again, sense her emotions as I was certain she could mine. I made sure that the bond was fully opened, but I knew we would have to connect through sex before we were truly as one, but I did not want to push that one just yet.

I looked to the prisoners in the corner. "Are you still hungry, my love?" I winked at her.

"You're happy that I drink from a male?" I felt a huge flash of guilt from both of us and I could not help but look to Gunnar when she said that, who also had a guilty expression on his face.

I kissed her lightly on the head. "Of course, my love. I should not be so jealous. And anyway, I never did teach you to drain someone."

She had a look of glee on her face and we approached the two very scared men in the corner. They started to try and protest but she glamoured the first man quiet and seemed to listen to his thoughts for a second before ripping into his throat and drinking hard.

She was incredible to watch, a perfect vampire. "Sookie, you will reach the point where your natural instinct is to stop for fear of killing the human, but you must go through that. Drink on but stop as soon as you feel his heart give up." She did just that, and then dropped him in a heap on the floor, turning to me with a toothy smile.

"Your turn,"

I gladly walked over to the other man and did the same and drank from him as the man was kicking and screaming. I always preferred not to glamour someone when I was about to drain them. All of a sudden Sookie screamed "Run," and the four of us ran out of the room like the wind for it to be destroyed milliseconds later. I had scooped Sookie up into my arms fearing she was not as fast as the rest of us. Once at a safe distance I looked back to see the building we were formerly in go up in flames. I turned back to Sookie.

"Did you read it from one of the drainers?"

"No, that bomb was there to catch, well kill, the drainers. It seems I was the unlucky vampire who got caught by them first."

"You sensed it then. Knew that the bomb was going to go off in the same way that you knew when I was going to attack you that time?" Gunnar asked.

She turned to him. "Yes, I don't quite know how, but I just somehow knew that something very bad was about to happen there."

"How did you not sense the drainers earlier?"

She looked thoughtful and was filled with sadness. "When I got up this evening I decided to take a walk, try and work out what to do. I guess I was lost in thought as I did not notice them until they had be in a silver net. I'm sorry I almost got you guys killed."

The four of us were sat on the beach watching the building burn. At least that covered up the fact that we had killed six humans. I was going to burn the building anyway. I needed more time alone with Sookie. I indicated to Pam to take Gunnar and leave us alone, which she did, them both bidding us goodbye and saying they'd see us later. Pam gave me a wink as she left.

We were left alone on the beach in the dark. It was a clear night with the stars speckled across the night sky and the moon shining brightly. I turned to face her knowing that her vampire eyes could see me as well as I could see her. She looked truly beautiful.

"I have to say I prefer you as a blonde, but I could get used to this if you wish it."

"Everyone keeps telling me that. To be honest, I thought it would fade or not last. But I guess I'm stuck with it now."

"If you shaved your hair off one night it would be regrown the next morning as your natural blonde, it may take a few days to be back to your normal length, but you would be blonde again." It was one of those mystical things about being a vampire that hair could regrow like that. She seemed to be pleased by that.

We sat in silence and enjoyed her closeness. Her emotions were complex. She was pleased to see me, she loved me, but she was also so hurt. She felt like I had abandoned her. I could not understand that. She stayed away from me for ten years.

"Sookie, I did not abandon you. I tried to find you, I did all that I could to bring you back to me. Hell, I even asked Bill to help find you."

"But Bill knew where I was, why would he not tell you?"

"He what?" I was livid. If Bill had kept her location from me he was in danger of joining his maker in final death. I tried to regain my composure to allow her to carry on. "Please tell me more. Where were you?"

"I went to Seattle. I'd been there about two months and I was working in a vampire wine / blood bar when he came in one night. He told me about Appius and also informed me that you had been, quote, 'feeding and fucking from every fangbanger in the state'. Oh, and then he tried to get me to sleep with him, which is when I told him to fuck off."

I was definitely going to kill Bill now. "Did you see him after that?"

"No. I stayed in Seattle for two years before I left to come to Europe."

I remembered her business proposal. "Was it Elisabeth's bar that you worked at?"

She looked shocked. "How did you know that?"

"I didn't read your proposal for the bar until a year or two after you had left. I thought it was fantastic, by the way. In fact Pam and I opened a bar very similar to the one you had designed in New Orleans after we relocated there, well actually five. They're very prosperous. We called the chain 'Stackhouses'. We were thinking of making in nation wide." I gave her a grin and she looked truly astonished. "I did wonder if you had gone to Seattle, and I phoned the sheriff Rosalind to see if you were there but she told me she had not seen you." I felt a twang of guilt from her, and her face certainly gave away her emotions.

"I actually lived in a nest with Rosalind and Elisabeth. I had made up some bullshit story about running away from Louisiana and then being turned in Seattle but not knowing where my maker was. And of course I always used the name of Susannah Hale and got fake documents and stuff. When I left it was only then that she told me she knew who I was. That I smelt like you. I guess I'm surprised that she didn't tell you where I was."

I wasn't surprised by Rosalind. She would have enjoyed knowing that she had one over me. Most vampires in the country knew what happened between Sookie and I. Although they did not know the specifics and others may not have recognised her, but they were aware we had a falling out and had split. Later on after she left I worried that some other vampire had got to her.

It was the time for honesty. "Rosalind and I were lovers for a few years in the nineteenth century when we were in England. She has tasted my blood so would recognise it anywhere. Did she take care of you?"

"Yes, I liked her a lot. But at that time I was struggling to survive so I fled to London, and then Stockholm. I felt oddly at home there, which I think was probably down to you." She stared out to sea, her emotions in turmoil again. "Eric, I assumed you had moved on. That you didn't want me any more. And after what Bill told me..." Her voice trailed off. I had no idea how she could ever assume that I did not want her. I couldn't help but feel disappointed she thought I would have spent the ten years sleeping with other women.

"Sookie, since the first day I met you I have never not wanted you."

"But you are my maker, even if the blood bond was blocked why did you not call me to you as your maker. I thought that bond wasn't affected by distance like our blood bond would be."

"I tried, Sookie, I truly tried everything. I was unable to reach you through our blood bond and I tried to compel you to come to me as my child, but it did not work. I tried it so many times, but I always got nothing. I do not know if it was the distance between us or some other force, but I just could not reach you. I am sorry." I hung my head, afraid of what she was going to do next.

She laid her hand on my knee and I looked to her. "So you have your phone on you?" I pulled my iPhone out of pocket and gave it to her with a questioning look. "I'm going to phone the witch and tell her I'm not going to go through with it."

As she phoned the witch I let the relief I was feeling flow through me and I laid back down on the sand. How had we got ourselves in this mess? We both blamed ourselves for the circumstances we now found ourselves in. I could not help but feel upset that she thought I had abandoned her, but in truth she was correct. I was the one who had banished my new born vampire child, something that was very frowned upon in the vampire world. I was lucky that she knew so much of our world and managed to keep in control. She'd been very controlled right from the start and took to it like a duck to water.

As she finished her call she came back over and sat down, handing my phone to me.

"So what now?" I was praying she didn't want to go back with Gunnar.

"I think I'm going to go home."

My heart broke. She didn't want me, she wanted to keep the distance from me. I laid back down on the sand and stared up into the night. How was I going to live without her? I would give up Louisiana, let Pam take over. If I was going to be weak I would not let myself get killed and being a weak King would lead to just that. I felt the tears fall from my eyes. We would have to sort out a schedule for the swapping of our blood. Maybe she would allow me to visit her in Europe. I would probably go back to Europe as well, stay so that I was not so far from her. I was determined to respect her decision, to not force her any more.

"Eric,"

I was lost in my own thoughts and did not register her speaking to me. She placed her small hand in mine on the sand and brought my hand to her lips.

"I mean Louisiana."


	20. Chapter 20

**Sookie**

He looked heartbroken when I said that I was going to go home, and it took me a while to realise that he thought I meant Europe, that I would go back with Gunnar. Did he think that Louisiana was no longer my home? The simple fact was we had spent much longer apart then we had ever been together, had things changed over those ten incredibly long years. He had asked me earlier on to go home with him, I knew where he meant. Maybe he was just assuming the worse. I was tempted to peak into his mind but I was not sure I would like what I heard.

It had been one hell of a few days. Actually seeing him for the first time in ten years, to actually see him standing in my room having spoken to him only a few hours earlier, I had no idea what to think. I didn't know why he was there, why he had come to me. The strange thing was that he looked different, and that is the thing you don't expect from a thousand year old vampire who should remain the same from his human days. His complexion looked sallow, his eyes not as bright as they used to be. It even seemed like he was thinner, like he hadn't been eating properly – but then if he'd mostly lived on bottled blood like Gunnar had explained then it was to be expected. His appearance had shocked me. It was something anyone else may not have noticed, but with my vampire eyes, knowing his body so well and having not seen him for ten years, he looked off. I didn't like to think of the fact that it was my doing that had caused this great man such pain and suffering.

When I arrived in Bermuda I was intent on breaking our bond. I had not told Gunnar, but right from the start, as soon as he told me the bond may be able to be broken, I knew that I didn't want to be vampire any more. And now? And now I had renewed my bond with Eric and I was planning on giving us another go. We still had a lot to work through, trust issues and we had not confronted what I had done that night. I hoped that Gunnar would go back to Stockholm on his own as soon as possible. I would tell Eric everything he had told me, and if we were going to have _that_ conversation it was probably better if there was an ocean between Eric and Gunnar. Right now I just wanted to kiss and make up, maybe have some fantastic sex and then talk about the rest when we got home to Louisiana.

I looked down at Eric, the anguish across his face, his emotions spinning out of control. I took his hand and informed him I meant Louisiana. I was almost crushed by the love that came from him in that instant and he pulled me on top of him. I relished the closeness of him and held my head to his chest. We stayed in that position for quite a few minutes until I felt him stirring to move beneath me. I sat up on his lap and he held me close in his arms.

"Thank you."

"For what?" I asked.

"For everything. I know we have a lot to work on, but thank you for giving me another chance. You are my world, I would not go on without you."

He was playing idly with my fingers when he noticed that I no longer had my wedding rings on. I felt a sudden, intense jolt of anger and upset from him and he stood up, almost sending me flying. I had already noticed that he had kept his on. He walked away from me standing with his back to me at the water's edge, the waves gently lapping at his feet. I sat back on the sand feeling defeated. We had only just decided to give this another go and he was already pissed at me. This really was going to take a lot of work.

"I have them in my hotel room." I said softly, knowing he could hear me perfectly well. "I kept them in the box of memories I had of you with the bullet."

I looked over to him, his huge frame standing on the water's edge, his beautiful blonde hair lit by the moonlight. He grief was immense, like he had the weight of the world on his thousand year old shoulders.

"Eric, I'm sorry. For everything."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you have sex with my brother?"

Shit. I did not want to have this conversation now. He still had his back to me but his anger was back. I tried to compose myself and send him calm, but that seemed to anger him further. He turned to look at me, his eyes bright in the moonlight. "Do not try and calm me down, I just need to know the answer."

"I couldn't help myself, the blood consumed me. I was angry at you for having that fangbanger on your lap and when we got back to the house the battle I had with Gunnar to 'let of some steam', as you had put it, was more intense than normal. I was distracted by thinking about what had happened. I ended up stabbing him right through the arm and his blade slashed into my shoulder. I was but a few months old and that amount of blood was intoxicating. I tried to stop myself, I really did, but I could not. I'm not even sure that I was aware of what I was doing. One moment I was overcome by the smell of Gunnar's blood, then we were swapping blood, cleaning each other's wounds, and the next thing I was truly aware of was you ripping him off me. It was blood lust, Eric. I didn't intend to do it. It wasn't that I was getting my revenge on you for biting that girl, which I was mightily pissed off about I must say."

I could feel myself starting to get angry and I knew that doing that was not going to help. Eric had turned his back on me again, his emotions complex. We were probably both silent for an hour or so, our emotions flaring, both going through what had happened that led us to that point. We had to make a decision, we either had to put this behind us, not blame each other or ourselves and move on, or we must part our ways, live separately from each other. Me ending it all was now not an option. Gunnar was right, we were too closely tied – even if the bond itself was no more we had still loved each other with an intensity that could not be replaced.

I felt the presence of another vampire come up behind me, it was Pam. "Now why the fuck aren't you two at it like rabbits? I can't even smell sex. What the hell is wrong with the two of you? Enough with being dark and broody." She turned to me. "Sookie, Eric has been a complete fucking nightmare these last ten years and that's not even including the fact of how sick and weak he's been getting. He needs you, he loves you. And I know you love him, you wouldn't be here if you didn't. You both fucked up your relationship big time and you're both to blame for what happened, with blame on Gunnar as well for not being able to keep his dick in his pants. But you two need to stop with the dramatics. Seriously, Eric, you're giving me a headache with the way that your emotions are changing. Now get your butt over here and start fucking your wife."

We were both shocked by Pam's speech and both stood staring at her. I was quite sure that Eric was not used to been spoken to like that. I turned to her.

"Pam, could you do me a favour. Could you run to my room and get something for me. You'll find a wooden box under the bed, and in it you'll find a small velvet bag. Could you bring it to me?"

"I'm not your runner, but on this occasion I will help as long as you agree to come out clubbing with me when we get back to New Orleans in MY choice of clothes." She did not give me chance to argue before grabbing my room key and tearing off towards the hotel.

I turned back to Eric who had an amused grin on his face. "I do hope that you're going to let me come along as well. I look forward to seeing what she's going to dress you in."

"Well, you'll have to ask her that, but I suspect it may be girls only trip." I winked at him.

A wave of possessiveness ripped through me from Eric and he growled his response, "My lover, trust me, if you're going to be wearing something of Pam's choice you will need me there to fend of the men, and probably women as well, who will be throwing themselves at you." His possessiveness was turning me on and we both took a step towards each other when Pam arrived with the bag in her hand.

"I'll have that." She looked to Eric as he spoke, then to me. I nodded my agreement and she gave the bag to Eric.

"We're all booked to stay another night but the plane is scheduled, to leave at and hour after first dark tomorrow night. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" She gave us an evil grin and then disappeared back to the hotel.

"Come with me." He gave me a lustful look and then ran off into the dark. I ran after him, enjoying using my vampire speed, the wind in my hair as I ran. He had run up a hill and stood at the top of a cliff waiting for me to catch up with him and join him. I was glad I had been wearing flats. When I reached him he held me close to him and he flew us down to the small secluded beach below with one house standing half way up the cliff to the back. It was obviously a private beach as there were a few sun beds around and a stash of beach towels in a sealed box which Eric ripped open. I sat down on one of the beds as Eric lined the sand with some of the towels and indicated for me to join him.

"I found this beach when I came here last time. It truly is beautiful, secluded and quiet. There is no one in the house at the moment, so we're here all alone."

He knelt down at the centre of the square of beach towels and pulled the small velvet bag out of his jeans pocket and emptied its contents into his hand. He looked down at my engagement and wedding rings, but picked up the bullet and fingered it with his other hand.

"I was quite upset that you took this, though maybe it was for the best as I may have destroyed it."

I didn't like to think what Eric had done to the rest of my stuff so quickly banished that thought. He popped the bullet back into the bag and placed it back into his jeans. He beckoned to me and after kicking off my shoes I stepped towards him. He changed position so he was only on one knee.

"Sookie, I love you. Much as I hate to say this, Pam was right. I can feel how much we love each other and we must put this behind us. I'm sure we still have things to talk about, and it will be painful for us, but we are better together. Lover, will you do me the honour of being my wife? Again?"

I smiled into his sapphire blue eyes. "Of course I will. I love you too."

He took my left hand, first slipping on my huge engagement ring and then my wedding ring. I had felt lost without them and knew it would take my hand being chopped off for me to not wear them again.

I pushed him back down then laid down on the makeshift bed next to him and rolled to face him on my side. He tenderly pushed a stand of hair away from my face and gazed deep into my eyes. I moved closer into him, lifting my leg up onto his hip and moved my lips so I was only a few centimetres away from his own. He was unnecessarily breathing and I could feel his cool breath on my skin. He ran a hand down my side and pulled me even closer so our bodies were touching. I leaned my forehead against his, and gently pressed my lips to his. It was the softest possible kiss, my lips gently sucking on his lower lip. When I pulled away slightly he returned the kiss with more vigour, licking my bottom lip and persuading me to open my mouth, which I gratefully did. Our tongues battled for dominance and I was grinding my hips against him, our hands exploring each other bodies.

"Lover, we are both wearing too many clothes."

"I agree, just don't rip them as I don't fancy going back to the hotel with no clothes on."

He laughed and we enjoyed the act of undressing each other while not ripping them off. Once we were both naked I took a step back to savour the sight of his naked body in the moonlight. He was truly magnificent, broad muscled shoulders and arms, perfect pecs, chiselled abs and a deep V that was leading down to his gracious plenty, which was standing fully to attention. I think I may have drooled slightly at the sight of him and my fangs had certainly descended.

When I managed to draw my eyes away back up to his oh so handsome face I was greeted with a huge smirk and a cocked eyebrow. "Enjoying the view?"

"Yeah, its a truly beautiful beach..."

He laughed and grabbed me in his arms pulling be back down on the towels, his large frame on top of mine, his gracious plenty sandwiched between us. His lips found mine again and we shared a deep and passionate kiss, my hands running across his back as I dug my fingers into his flesh. He started nibbing and kiss down my jaw line to my neck, his fangs running along my jugular causing me to moan deeply. He slowly moved his kisses, nibbles and licks down to my shoulder, nuzzling the skin at the corner of my shoulder and neck and kissing down my collar bone before switching to the other side. I was on fire, I needed him. I almost screamed in ecstasy when his hands and mouth found my breasts and my nipples hardened beneath his touch and cool breath. His tongue swirled around my nipples and after spending a tortuously long time on one he spent the same length of time on the other before heading further south.

As I opened my legs for him he nuzzled and licked the femoral artery, his cool breath over my sex. He breathed in my scent and then launched his attack on my mound, sucking and pulling with his mouth, his eyes locked onto my own constantly. I wasn't sure if I could move my eyes if I wanted to, I almost felt like I was being glamoured by him, such was the strength of his gaze. When he added his fingers into the equation I thought I would lose it then and there. I had missed his touch so much. Considering the length of time that we had been apart it did not take me long to reach my first orgasm of the night. I felt Eric's joy as he lapped up my juices in long licks along my far too sensitive area. I needed him inside me now, but I was more than willing to repay the favour.

Eric had pulled back up my body and was nibbling on my neck, his chest rumbling with satisfaction almost as if he was purring. With all the strength I could muster I attempted to flip us over, but Eric was having none of it.

"Lover, I cannot wait any longer to be inside you. I have waited ten years for this moment. There will be plenty of time for you to pleasure me with your beautiful mouth at a later date. Right now, I need to fuck you."

I pulled his head back down into a deep kiss and he positioned himself at my entrance, slipping in inch by inch as I was stretched around him. I had forgotten how large he was, how right this felt. How the hell had I stayed away for ten years when I had been missing this? Once he was fully encased inside me, I was quite sure he was probably hitting my diaphragm as he began to move. Slowly at first but as I matched his movements we quickly sped up. It was needy and lustful, my fingers ripping at the flesh on his back as my second orgasm rippled through my body. He slowed down, sensually kissing my neck to allow me time to recover. Once I had regained control of all my senses we resumed at full pace and he shifted his angle slightly, allowing for even deeper penetration. I screamed out into the dark night, pleased that there wasn't anyone in the house by the beach.

I continued to meet him stroke for stroke and we were both unnecessarily panting, desperate for each other, trying to touch as much flesh as we could. I could feel him swell inside me as he was about to cum and I bit savagely into his shoulder causing him to explode. As soon as he bit into me I was close behind him.

He laid on top of me, his full weight pinning me down into the sand and I relished it, my eyes shut tightly as I saw fireworks in the back of my eyelids. I felt something splash onto my face and looked up to see a bloody streak down Eric's cheek. I licked the trail off his face and held his head in my hands.

"I love you Eric Northman. Please always know that to be the case. I will never leave you again."

"As I love you, Sookie Northman."

It was my own turn to shed a tear, which he quickly licked away. We laid naked in each others arms, enjoying the cool soft breeze that fluttered around us. We made soft tender love a few more times before we felt dawn approaching and we dressed before Eric threw me onto his back to fly back to the hotel. He led me back to his suite, and as we entered were greeted by the sight of Pam and Gunnar going at it on the sofa, both moaning in ecstasy as they reached their peak as we walked in.

I instantly knew that Eric was going to lose control as it was a scene very reminiscent of what he must have walked in to on that fateful night. I quickly spun around and put my hand on his chest, drawing his eyes to my own, sending him all the calm I could muster and speaking to him my mind, telling how much I loved him and that he didn't need to kick off.

I was actually quite surprised when he did nothing, our eyes still locked as I sent him love, calm and comfort through the bond. The odd thing was that I got nothing back from him. I heard from behind me that Pam and Gunnar had untangled themselves from each other and put what remnants of clothes on they could find. I leaned in to kiss Eric and he seemed to spring back to life, a little shaken.

"Sookie, what the hell just happened?" Eric was looking from me to Pam and Gunnar who both had guilty looks on their faces. I could feel Eric's confusion, but I was no more clear of what happened then he was.

It was Pam that broke the silence as she squealed and jumped up and down on the spot. "Oh Sookie, please tell me that you actually just glamoured him!"

I was stunned, but the fact was it felt like I had glamoured him. I was scared to look back up to Eric, convinced that he would be angry that I had done such a thing to him.

"Sookie, look at me." He gently lifted my chin so that my eyes were on his eyes. "Did you feel that you did glamour me?"

"I guess, but Eric it was not intentional, I promise. All I wanted was to keep you calm, I know what that would have brought back to you." A shot of pain ran through him and I held him close to me. I was quite sure that he probably staring daggers at Gunnar over my shoulder, but he did not act.

"I know, Sookie. Come, let us go to bed, dawn is very soon. We can talk about this more tomorrow." He led me to his bedroom and took great pleasure in finally being able to rip off the clothes I was wearing which landed in pieces all over the room. He pulled me into bed with him and pinned me down on the bed with a passionate kiss before we rolled over and he spooned me as daylight approached.

I awoke the next morning to see Eric in all his glory stood by the microwave in the room as it pinged. He handed me a warm blood in my favourite flavour, which I quickly downed.

"Still hungry?"

I was. "I normally need two first thing, its the kick start I need. I think it may be reminiscent of my need for coffee when I was human!" He handed me another blood then made one for himself. "Are you okay about what happened last night, with Pam and Gunnar?"

He sat down on the bed next to me and I rested by head on his shoulder as he rubbed small circles on my back. "When I walked in last night I had a flash of seeing him on top of you. If you hadn't glamoured me or whatever you did I know I would have killed him. I'm just impressed you reacted before me, I'm over a thousand years older than you. I should be much quicker. Did you pre-empt me, like you did with the bomb?"

I thought about it. "I think maybe I did. I think we were both slightly stunned by what we saw, but I just had a feeling that you would attack him."

He brought me to him and wrapped his strong arms around me. "Fancy a shower?" He was trying to have put an innocent look on his face but the lust coming from him gave him away. I nodded and he led me towards the bathroom.

"Hey, wait a minute. Were you awake before me this morning? And you look better."

He had a smug grim on his face. "I woke up before sundown tonight. Its the first time I've done that for many years. And I do feel better, I guess renewing our bond yesterday has done that. Thank you, Sookie. Thank you for coming back to me."

I pulled him into the shower, turned the water on and then sunk to my knees. "Thank you for having me back." I proceeded to show him how pleased I was to be back with him as I took him into my mouth, sucking, licking and nibbling until he exploded into my mouth with a roar. As we enjoyed getting each other clean and as he was taking me against the wall we were interrupted by Pam standing at the doorway of the bathroom.

"Okay, you two, enough. The plane is due to leave shortly, and much as I am tempted to leave you both here, it would probably be better if you were on it. Now remove yourself from each other, get some clothes on, get packed and lets go."

Pam left us stunned, and I turned and grinned up at Eric. "Since when did she become the boss?"

"I have no idea, but I can assure you I'll be putting a stop to it!"

I realised that all my clothes and stuff had been downstairs in my room, but was relieved to see that Pam had laid out an outfit for me on Eric's bed. We quickly changed and Eric packed up his stuff and we were out of the hotel in no time. We met Gunnar at the airport who was packing up his own plane for his flight back to Stockholm. I was stood with Eric's arms wrapped around me from behind and I was leaning against him. I could see Gunnar tentatively searching Eric's face for permission to speak to me, which was obviously granted.

He spoke to me in Swedish. "Sookie, I'm so happy to see that you have sorted this out, and I want to apologise to both of you for my part in what happened. I have never regretted anything I have done more. You two belong together and need to be together. Just promise me that you will always be honest with each other and not exclude the other from your lives. And Sookie, you've shown that you're a powerful vampire with your ability to pre-empt the future and whatever that was when you glamoured Eric, please continue to train and expand your powers. Oh, and I'll arrange for your stuff to be shipped over from you apartment." He lifted his eyes to meet Eric's gaze. "Be careful of Appius. I've told Sookie all this and she can expand, but he made me tell him everything about her. He actually spent a few years looking for her himself, but as she'd changed her name and appearance luckily did not find her. When he hears you are back together you may find he puts in an appearance. I hope to see you both again some day, and any time you are in Europe please fell free to come and visit."

He nodded his head to us both and turned to Pam, drawing her into his arms and giving her a long smooch which she seemed to greatly enjoy. I could feel the surprise coming from Eric but at least he wasn't murderous this time. It was odd that Pam was so affected by Gunnar as she'd never really had a thing for men, but he obviously was the exception. He looked back over to us and winked before going to board his own plane for the journey back.

"So, my lover, since when did you speak Swedish?"

I smiled up at him, "Ah, you know, its just something I've picked up along the way. I spent every spring and autumn in Stockholm for six years, my summers in Svalbard and my winters were in the Canaries. My Spanish is actually quite good as well." I couldn't help but be a little smug.

"Well, in that case I look forward to teaching you much more."

We boarded the plane and settled down for the three hour flight back to New Orleans. I snuggled up against Eric as we watched the latest Quentin Tarantino film, laying between his legs with by back against his chest and his arms wrapped tightly around him. But I could not help but feel a little anxious about returning to Louisiana after all this time. Eric, having felt my anxiety, gently kissed my neck and pushed his love and feelings of calm into me, which relieved my symptoms to some extent, but it did not relieve the knot that was tied in my stomach.

When we arrived back to New Orleans we were met in a Limo by a tall red-headed vampire and he drove us towards the city centre and to the Royal Residence. As we were stuck in traffic I saw that New Orleans had changed a lot in my time away, everything seemed to have been rebuilt since Katrina and the vibrancy was back in the city. It also looked like the vampire tourism was back in full force as I saw many bars around that seemed to cater for all kinds of Supes, vampires and weres, as well as humans. But I was truly shocked when we drove past the bar Stackhouses and the car stopped right beside. I could see that it was packed inside and there was a long queue of humans and vampires alike waiting to enter the bar. I turned to Eric, my mouth agape.

"This is the first one we opened, and it is one of the most popular bars in the city. That idea you had really was fantastic, and you had done a much better job with your plans then Elisabeth had in Seattle. You got the balance just right."

I was quite sure that the success was more down to Eric than me, but I was happy to take his compliment. As we continued on to the palace my anxiety was increasing.

"What are you so nervous about?" Eric asked. Pam cocked an eyebrow at me and waited for my response.

"I don't know. It'd just that I've been away for ten years, I haven't lived with you for such a long time. I guess I'm a little anxious about how we'll fall back into our routine. And living here as well, in the palace – its just a little daunting."

"Sookie, I will not push you into doing anything. You are Queen of Louisiana but I will let you settle. I know that before that there were things I did not tell you, did not involve you in, and I promise that that will not happen again. I will share anything with you and you can get as involved as you wish, and you may do whatever you like. I know that you are not one to sit on your butt and let the world go by, so whatever you want to do I will support you." He pulled me closer to him and kissed me softly on the nose. "I love you, my Queen."

"And I love you, your majesty."

He laughed and the three of us spent the rest of the journey looking out at the sights of New Orleans and Eric and Pam pointed out the improvements and alterations that had been made. It really looked that since Eric had been king he'd done a great job and the city had prospered. We finally pulled up to the residence and the car drove into the underground garage. Someone came to collect our bags and Eric took my hand as we got out the car.

"I will give you the full tour tomorrow night, but right now I just want to show you the inside of my bedroom. And probably bathroom." He winked at me and I heard Pam tutting at him.

"Fine, well, you two have fun. I'm going to go and do some work to keep this Kingdom running." She stomped off upstairs and Eric laughed.

"You know, she's been a nightmare as well at times!" He kissed me on the hand and led me towards his bedroom. "But honestly, I don't know what I'd have done without her. There were times that I could not even face getting out of bed and she has kept the state running. Its almost as if I've just been the public face and she's been doing most of the work behind the scenes. She always kept me updated on what was happening and did everything in my name by email so no one would ever know the difference."

"But do other vampires know about us, about what happened?"

He stopped walking and turned to look at me. "They knew we had split, but they did not know the specifics other than you left me. Vampires can actually be quite big gossips when some kind of scandal breaks, and a king and queen splitting up after only a few months was certainly that. I don't doubt that Rosalind knew all about it, and as she probably recognised you from my smell instantly I'm sure she was loving getting one over on me. But don't worry, I'm quite sure that she kept it to herself at the time. Though more for your sake than mine."

I thought for a moment. "So the simple fact is that probably all of the high-powered vampires across the country know that I left you. Wow, that's not going to put me in a good stead with them. Do you think we should go out in public, host some kind of ball, or something to tell the world that we're back together?"

He had a massive smile on his face, pride and love flowing through him. "If you would be willing to do that for me it would be fantastic. No one needs to know exactly what happened, but as my wife and bonded you were a queen in exile rather than not a queen at all."

He scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder, flying the rest of the distance to his room, sending all sorts of things and people flying as we made our approach. I was desperately trying to apologise for him as we went. But that just made him laugh harder. When we got to the room he threw me down onto the bed and landed on top of me, kissing and licking down my neck. He was the happy care-free Eric again I knew and loved, and I was content to be with him.

"Do you have any True Blood down here? I'm kind of hungry."

"I can do better than that." He walked to a fridge in the corner of his room and pulled out a couple of bags of donor blood, poured them into glasses and heated them in the microwave. When at the perfect temperature he walked over and handed me a glass, eyeing me for my response. I took a sip – it was the single most beautiful thing I had ever tasted. I quickly gulped down the glass and he handed me the second glass.

"Are you not having any?"

He laughed. "No, I'll just have a True Blood for now, but I'm hoping that you'll let me have a taste of you later?" I raised an eyebrow at him. Was this fairy blood? He seemed to know my question. "That is almost as good as you taste to me. That human is a quarter fairy and is a regular donor. It costs quite a bit, but she reminded me of you, and since I wasn't going to bite her she agreed to donate a few bags to me each month."

I felt a little guilty that Eric would not bite her, and I wondered if we maybe needed to loosen that rule, since that was one of the things that got us in trouble. Eric knew where my thoughts were. "The girl on my lap that night was also one quarter fairy. She was the King of Oklahoma's pet and as a gift for selling him Arkansas he gave me her to taste. Of course he didn't realise that I had my own fairy."He sighed. "I was only hard because she tasted so similar to you."

I drank the rest of the glass and put it on the table behind Eric. I wrapped my arms around him, resting my head on his broad hard chest. "I'm sorry that I didn't give you chance to explain yourself that night. I was certainly being very hot-headed."

"It's okay, my love. We shouldn't dwell on the past, but I do have one more confession." He took my hand and led me into his closet. It was even bigger than the one he had in Shreveport, and his clothes spanned one huge side, completely stacked to the brim of suits, jeans, shirts etc. As I looked around I saw there was a section with clothes for me. As I got closer I noticed they were al brand new and many still had their tags on. He picked me up and sat me on the small table in the centre of the room, my legs open so he could stand close to me.

"The night you left, the night I told you to leave, I destroyed all your possessions. I went downstairs with Pam, took everything you owned or that reminded me of you and I burned it all. I threw out the sheets to the bed and had every other fabric in the house replaced or steam cleaned so I would not smell you any more. And I destroyed the cottage. Mostly by myself but I then got contractors in and they levelled it. I never went down there again even after it was gone." I could feel his pain as relived that night. "I'm sorry I did that. It took about a month until I realised what a fool I had been in destroying everything of yours. That was also when I stopped with the fangbangers. You have no idea how bad I feel about that." I certainly did know how he felt as his grief was so intense I thought I might fall of the table. I looked up at him, his eyes rimmed with red yet he continued.

"I ended up going to your home in Bon Temps. I would just sit in your old room, or on your sofa and remember the days we spent together when I was cursed. I even slept a couple of nights in your hidey hole." He smiled a sad smile. "It was Pam who pulled me out of my depression. I had stopped eating all together and she managed to convince me that I wasn't helping myself. I was going to move the rest of your things over from your house to Shreveport to keep it safe for you, but your house was torched one night about two months after you left. We never knew what happened, but I have my suspicions." So did I. That time correlated with when I had seen Bill in Seattle, would he have done that?"

"So why do I have clothes here then?"

"I always hoped you would come home to me, and since I had managed to destroy everything you owned it seemed only right that I replace it. I'm truly grateful you took the bullet, I know it would not have survived my rage. The only reason the bonding knife lasted was that Pam hid it from me in her own home." The red tear that had been threatening finally made it down his cheek and I pulled his face to me to lick it off. I held my forehead against his.

"Eric, my husband, I think we should put all of this firmly behind us now. We are together now and that is all that counts. The past stays exactly there, in the past. We have a whole new future to look forward to. Although I have to admit, I do have a stake with Bill's name on it."

He smiled at me and whisked me back to the bedroom where we got fully reacquainted with each other's bodies until sunrise.

* * *

_I'm almost tempted to leave it there - what do you think?_

_I guess there are some unresolves issues of Bill, Appius and Sookie's reintroduction into vampire society._

_I've truly loved writing this and thank you for your kind words of encouragement - its been a rough road for our lovers!  
_


	21. Chapter 21

_Well, I've decided to carry on with this, although I am treating this as a second part of the story. Thank you to Charhamblin for suggesting New Beginnings._

* * *

Just before the sun rose the night before Eric had shaved my hair off assuring me that it would have at least partially regrown blonde the next night. Luckily he was right. As I stared into the mirror he handed to me when I had awaken I saw my hair had grown to just past shoulder length and I was back to my natural shade of blonde for the first time in ten years.

"You're lucky Northman, if I had to spend the rest of my days bald, so would you."

He let out a heart laugh, "Well that would certainly be a travesty!"

He pulled me up out of bed, scooping me up in his arms and plunging me into a huge jacuzzi that easily could have sat twelve people even of Eric's size. He disappeared for a minute or so and I a heard the ping of the microwave just before he came back into the bathroom with two champagne glasses of blood as if it was the height of sophistication.

He climbed in and sat next to me, handing me a glass. "Sookie, I just want to thank you for saving me, thank you for coming back, giving us another chance. I loved you so much, but I did not realise how much until I didn't have you any more. I can't do this without you." His sapphire eyes were fixed on mine, the emotion flowing between us raw and instinctual. "I want us to toast to new beginnings." He stared me dead in the eye as we clinked our glasses together before both taking a sip. It was instantly obvious from the smell before it reached my lips that this was the same fairy blood from the night before.

I couldn't help but feel a little grossed out at drinking fairy blood since I was one myself, but then I also used to be a human and I certainly had no qualms about biting and feeding from humans. However I was quite sure that Eric had given me this for a reason, and as we both drank our glasses down the lust was growing between us to extraordinary levels. As was a certain something between his legs. I needed him with an urgency I didn't think I'd ever felt before.

Once Eric's glass had been drained I took the glass from him and placed it with mine on the side of the bath. I moved closer to him, standing in the bath with him sat down on one of the seats, the bubbles fizzing around us. He leant his head against my chest and breathed me in, a contented rumble coming from deep within his chest. I push him back against the side of the bath with some force, which seemed to surprise him and then I impaled myself immediately upon his length in one go. I was not going to deal with the niceties of foreplay, I needed him in me to feel complete, to feel whole.

As I adjusted to his size Eric started to nibble along my collar bone, allowing his fangs to scratch my skin causing my whole body to convulse. I started gently rocking my hips, keeping the pace slow and sensual for now. My lips found his and we kissed softly, teasing each other, biting, sucking and licking, our eyes meeting whenever possible. Eric's hands soon fell to my hips to try and hurry along my pace but I was not going to rush this. It felt so perfect and in that moment my need for him was completely satiated.

After a while of rocking together he moved his hands so that his thumb could rub my clit which caused me to throw my head back in ecstasy. Leaving my throat open to Eric wasn't the smartest move on my part and within milliseconds he had bitten into the side of my neck at the base where it meets the shoulder and I came hard. The pure bliss flowing through my body was incredible and I began to move faster on Eric, pushing myself up and down on his while rocking my body. When we found the perfect angle he began to move, pounding into me as I tried my best to keep our lips locked as the water splashed around us. When I sensed that we were both close I repaid the favour and bit hard into his own neck. I felt his dick swell within me and he let out an almighty roar as I drank down his beautiful thick thousand year old blood. I could feel his power within me, flowing through my veins and arteries.

After we had both calmed down and I had managed to draw myself away from him we got out of the tub, dried and got dressed. I chose a long sleeve Vivienne Westwood black jersey dress that was double layered and tied in a bow at the waist. It was perfect and incredibly flattering and probably cost a good few hundred dollars. Eric looked hot as well dressed in black jeans and a blue button-down shirt that perfectly matched the colour of his eyes. He took my hand and led me out of our room, as it was now, and led me down the corridors we had flown down the night before. We came to a grand staircase with a rich dark red carpet with what looked like gold plated bannister. It was incredibly opulent.

Once we reached the top we were on ground level and Eric stopped, taking both my hands in his and looked at me, a loving look on his face.

"My love, I have a surprise for you, but I need you to not freak out about this."

"Well, I can't say that I'm not going to freak out if I don't know what you're talking about. Do you think I will like it?" I asked him.

"I certainly hope you will be pleased."

Eric took my hand and led me towards a door which was mostly closed that led off the hallway. He looked back at me one more time, a little anxiety flowing from him and then opened the door and pulled me gently in behind him. The room was richly yet tastefully decorated and dominated by a huge lit fire to the side and three enormous black leather sofas surrounding it. Sat down on the sofas I noted Pam facing towards me with a Hispanic looking male vampire next to her. There was another vampire sat on the sofa with their back to me but I could not see who it was.

Pam and the male vampire stood up and walked towards us as we approached and Eric introduced him. "Sookie, I'd like you to meet Angelo Dominguez, he is my other lieutenant. I have known Angelo for well over five hundred years and he is a trusted friend and companion."

Angelo approached me, and when standing around a foot away from me he looked to Eric for some kind of permission. I did not see what Eric did, but Angelo took my hand, bowed and kissed me lightly on the back of my hand before releasing it. He took at step back. He was a handsome man with a shock of thick black hair, large dark brown eyes and an odd pale, yet olive skinned complexion. I didn't like to think what Eric was thinking about considering what happened between his last lieutenant and I, but his emotions were calm so I did not think any further.

"A pleasure, my Queen. I have heard many great things about you and it is wonderful to finally meet you. I see reports of your beauty were not exaggerated." He somehow had managed to say that in his lilting Spanish accent without sounding corny or smarmy.

"Please, call me Sookie. It's nice to meet you too, Angelo." He turned and went to stand back closer to Pam. Eric took my hand and we followed to stand closer to the fire.

"I'd now like to introduce you to Pam's child."

Pam had a child? Seriously? I had never imagined her as a maker, but she was taught by Eric so I was quite certain she would be perfect at it. I turned to peer around Eric and look to my right to where the vampire who had remained still on the sofa was sitting. I was stunned when I saw who it was.

"Oh my god, Amelia?"

"Yup, you're not the only one who got all vamped up!"

I dropped Eric's hand and flew to her almost sending us both crashing down onto the sofa. We hugged each other tightly. "I cannot believe you're a vampire as well." I was so excited, but then I thought about things a bit more. "What happened?"

Eric indicated for us all to sit down and out of nowhere a human came in and brought us all warm bottles of True Blood. We sat down on the middle sofa facing the fire, and Pam had moved to join Amelia. Her chestnut hair was longer then before, her skin much paler and her bright blue eyes shone from her face. Eric took my hands in his as I snuggled close to him. It was Amelia who started explaining.

"Well, a few months after you left I started to go back up to Shreveport to stay with Eric and Pam."

"Eric and Pam?"

Eric explained, "Pam moved in with me after you left. I think she just wanted to keep an eye on me" He winked at his child who scowled back at him.

Amelia continued. "Anyway, I'd been staying with them on and off for a few years, working for them, doing witchy stuff and all. And Pam and I had become … friendlier again. One day around seven years ago I left the house during daylight hours to travel back to New Orleans when one of the Fellowship nuts that constantly stalked the place shot me in the abdomen as I left. The Were guards got me to hospital and they bandaged me up as best they could, but I'd been told the prognosis was not good as my liver was really badly damaged and I needed a transplant. Pam and Eric came by that evening and Pam asked me if I wanted her to turn me." Her situation was reminiscent of my own turning, but it sounded like she had more time to decide and I imagined Amelia would probably love being a vampire.

"That night after Pam left, Eric flew me out of the window and when back at the house she turned me. I don't really remember much about it as I was in a lot of pain and drifting in and out of consciousness. So here I am, seven years later and a vampire. And I guess that makes you my Aunt!"

"Oh, shut up!" I growled, laughing at the same time. "Did you stay with Pam and Eric?"

"The whole time, yes. I've become very close to both of them, with Pam as my maker and Eric as my grandfather!"

It was Eric's turn to growl at her, but she just gave him a cheeky grin. I was pleased that she was happy and that she had been their to support Eric and Pam. And I was so pleased that Amelia was now part of our nest, though really, she had spent much more time with them than I. I knew I would have to spend some time alone with Pam and Amelia when possible to talk about it more. Maybe that girls night out Pam had promised would be the ideal opportunity, assuming Eric would let me out of his sight.

"Do you like being vampire?" I asked Amelia.

She thought for a few moments. "Yes, I'm pleased Pam turned me, she has been a great maker. I had some difficulty adjusting at first to drinking blood and biting, in fact it was a couple of months before I actually bit anyone." I couldn't help but feel a little smug that I had taken to it much easier than she had. Eric obviously felt my mood and I could feel his humour.

"But are you still a witch?" I had no idea whether a vampire could be a witch as well. I was aware from Hallow that you could be both were and witch, but vampire?

"Yes I am. It look a while to get used to, but now I have much more control over my abilities and I've been able to expand what I can do. We understand that there are other vampires who are also witches and they have become quite powerful. I may even be able to kick Eric's ass one day!"

He raised an eyebrow at her, "I wouldn't count on it witch!"

Amelia laughed at him and tuned back to me as we all sipped on our bloods. "So tell me, do you have any super powers?"

I didn't know what to say. I was quite sure I could trust her as she was almost family now, but I wasn't sure if I should tell her about my ability to glamour Eric. I projected my question to Eric who responded by saying I should not tell her, at least with Angelo in the room.

"Well, I have this ability where I can sometime sense when something is going to happen. When we were in Bermuda I was caught by some drainers and when Eric came to the rescue I suddenly had this intuition that we should get the hell out of there. A few seconds later bomb when off that would have no doubt killed us all."

"Wow, that kind of cool."

"Do you live here? With Pam?"

"Yup, we're all a tight little nest now, girlfriend!"

I smiled to myself as Angelo got up to leave, and the rest of us all sat silently for a while. Eric was softly playing with my hair with one hand, stroking my neck at times which sent a shiver down my spine. I leaned closer into him and placed my hand on his thigh, my hand dangerously close to where his gracious plenty was nestling in his jeans. I edged my hand millimetre by millimetre closer to his ever increasing bulge. When my hand eventually encountered him he let out a soft moan and I heard Pam snicker.

She got up and took Amelia's hand. "Come, let us find out fun elsewhere, these two seem unable to keep their hands off each other." I felt a little embarrassed at my behaviour, but I wanted Eric with an unimaginable passion. "One thing Sookie, I seem to remember that you promised me you would come out clubbing with me. And by me I mean Amelia and I. So how do you fancy it tomorrow night while we let the boys do some work? Friday nights are always so boring around here."

I turned to Eric to seek his approval, his eyes on Pam and obviously speaking to her through their bond. Pam just rolled her eyes and Eric turned back to me. "I'm more than happy for you to go out with the girls. I will never ask you not to do anything unless it would be of danger to you. And Pam knows that she would do anything to keep you safe." Eric's voice had a sinister tone to it, and it was obvious Pam had been told that she must keep me safe, but we were three fairly powerful vampires and would be fine on our own. "Just promise me I get some say in what you wear, I have no intention of letting Pam have all the fun there!"

"You don't mind being on your own?"

"Sookie, being King of Louisiana takes a lot of work. I'm sure I have a ton of emails waiting for me. I will be quite fine on my own, although I have a bad feeling I will not be completely on my own. I have a few meetings lined up." He smiled a soft smile at me.

We bid goodnight to Pam and Amelia, although it was only a few hours in to the night. I appreciated that Eric was taking his time out to be with me as I quite understood that being King involved a lot of work. I continued to snuggle into him, resuming my subtle attack on his thigh as he gently nibbled on my shoulder.

"Are you pleased about Amelia?"

"Very. I guess I'd been worrying slightly about seeing her anyway as it had been over ten years, and the last time I saw her was our wedding night. I get the impression that she has been good for Pam. Good for you as well."

He pondered my question before answering. "I think you're right. She's been an excellent child for Pam, and it certainly helped that they'd had a past history together. They were together for a few years solidly and now they certainly spend time together, but they do see others. As we became aware of in Bermuda." Eric had a brief flash on anger, but it had gone as quickly as it had appeared. "And you're right, she has been good for me as well. Having someone there who knew you as well as she does, well, it just helped. She understood you and when I needed it she was able to talk to me about you. I'm grateful to her."

"Then I too am grateful to her for looking out for you. I love you, my King."

He pulled me closer on to his lap, and I sat straddling him as he kissed down my neck. "Sookie, I'm going to work on clearing some time for us to go away together. You never did get the honeymoon you deserved. There's a fantastic place in the north of Canada that is completely relaxing but also incredibly luxurious. Would you like that?"

"Of course, it sounds great. Just you and me and long winter nights. I don't think I could think of anything I'd like more. Thank you."

"Well, I will work on arranging it then. I will clear some time in my schedule. It may mean I owe Pam a favour or two, but I think you're just about worth it." He smirked at me and I smacked him on the arm.

We started kissing more ferociously than before and it did not take long before I was writhing around on his lap, my dress hitched up around my middle as I searched for the friction I desired. Eric was nipping at my neck, drawing a little blood before licking the wound shut, and I was very close to ecstasy. His hand slipped under my dress and he ran two fingers along my folds before pushing them into me, his thumb on my nub as his hand worked in its masterful fashion. As I reached my peak he bit into my shoulder with more force and my scream must have been heard throughout the house.

When recovered I slipped back of his lap so that I was kneeling on the floor and I slowly undid the buttons of his jeans, taking my time as my hand slowly caressed each button in turn. His erection was straining beneath my hand but I was not going to be easy on him. After around five painfully slow minutes I had released his him from his denim prison. I allowed myself a glance up at Eric's eyes which were hooded with lust. As soon as I took him into my mouth I saw his head roll back into his skull and he let out a moan. I sucked him hard allowing my fangs to draw a little blood which combined with the pre-cum that had leaked from him into a beautiful concoction that I greedily swallowed. I took him as deep as I could allowing my throat to relax and massaging his base firmly with one hand while cupping his balls with my other hand. After a few minutes of this attention he came into my mouth, his seed hitting the back of my throat violently.

Eric pulled me up to him and kissed me passionately, my body relaxing into him. It did not take long for Eric to be ready again. He pulled my dress off without ripping it and quickly shed his own clothes, my panties were ripped from me in one pull. He sat back down onto the sofa and I nestled down onto him as he filled me completely. We rocked and swayed together as I lifted my hips up and down at an incredible pace, us both moaning and panting. My hands were full of his hair as I pulled him to me as close as I could get. It didn't take too long for us both to reach our peaks and we bit each other, drawing mouthfuls of each others blood. There was a knock at the door.

"Go away, Pamela." Eric hissed.

"Oh, I am sorry to interrupt, but I thought you may like to know that Bill Compton is here. He has news of where Sookie is."

Eric's eyes flashed with anger, but I mostly felt deviousness from him. I knew this would not end good for Bill. "Okay Pam, thanks, take him to my office and wait with him. I'll be there shortly."

I raised an eyebrow at him in a very Eric-like manner waiting for an explanation. "I'm going to let him have his say, see what he has to say about where you are." He smirked as he said this. "Let's just say he'll be sharpening his own stake." I gave him a fangy smile and kissed him.

"Should you shower first? I mean surely you smell of me and sex, won't Bill be able to smell that?"

"He will, but I won't get too close. He shouldn't be able to recognise your scent but the smell of sex will be overpowering. It will let him think I'm with other women and he may even give more away then he intends. Stay close by, I will call to you if I wish to ruin Bill's illusion." He grinned at me as I got off him. He licked me clean, his rough tongue sending a shiver through my body and we both redressed. From out of nowhere Eric threw me a clean and intact pair of panties. "I was being prepared," he smirked as he answered my unspoken question.

Eric led me to the door of his office and indicated for me to in the room next door. Although I would not be able to hear all of the conversation I would be able to hear it if voices were raised, which was likely, and I would also be able to walk in if Eric asked me to. I almost felt sorry for Bill, and maybe if he hadn't come and lied to Eric I may have been able to forgive him for not telling Eric about finding me in Seattle. I had to be honest with myself that I that time I certainly did not want to be found and I had gone to great measures to not be found by Eric. But I was also certain that had I known Eric was looking for me and wanted me back I would have gone to him. I could not have stayed away from him if I knew he had forgiven me.

Eric had gone into the office and was obviously letting Bill tell him all about his alleged encounter with me. Our bond was fully open and I could feel Eric's moods constantly changing – they went from smugness to disbelief to anger and then back to smugness. I could tell that Eric would no doubt be calling me in shortly.

"_Sookie, could you please warm four bloods and then bring them in to us all as if it were completely natural to see Bill there?"_

I smiled and answered him. _"Of course, my love."_

I went into a small kitchen I had spotted of the corridor and pulled the four True Bloods out of the fridge and heated them in the microwave. I found a tray to put them on, took a deep, unnecessary breath and then headed towards Eric's office.

The door was slightly ajar so I didn't have the hassle of opening the handle and I pushed the door open with my free hand and went in with a sweet smile on my face. The room was large, light and spacious with minimal furniture other than a large wooden desk which Eric was sat behind and two large cream leather sofas, Bill on one and Pam on the other. As I entered the room my eyes went straight to Eric who smiled reassuringly at me, pushing encouragement and support through our bond. I handed him a blood as he stood up to greet me and kissed me gently on my forehead, I then walked to Pam and gave her hers as she winked at me and then turned to Bill.

"Hi Bill, good to see you. How have you been these ten years?" His face was a picture. He was completely stunned to see me and I could see his panic rise as he realised that Eric had been playing him earlier. Eric had moved to lean on the front of his desk and he indicated to me to join him. I stood in front of him, leaning my full weight against him as he wrapped one arm around me, his blood in his other hand.

Bill had still not said anything but he was staring at me with trepidation. It was Eric that spoke up, "Compton, I believe my wife asked you a question. It is rude not to answer her." I was quite certain that I could smell the fear coming from him, and aware that Eric was certainly on edge. He asked me to move to his side so I would not be in the direct firing line if Bill was to do anything.

"I have been quite well, thank you Your Majesty." He got up and bowed to me in an elaborate gesture that was probably not needed. I smiled at him as he sat back down. "I have been travelling mostly, gathering more information for the database. My permanent home is in Georgia now."

"Georgia," I asked, knowing perfectly well Eric wanted the answer to that question, "Why Georgia? I thought you liked Louisiana, being your home state and all?"

He was stumped for an answer. "Well … ummm …. I decided to live elsewhere ..."

"Really, why was that?" I was starting to enjoy this.

"Well, after you left and everything … I guess I didn't want to be away from you."

"You could have joined me in Seattle though."

I was quite certain he got paler at that instance. "Yes, well … King of Georgia made me an attractive offer to move there."

"What kind of offer, Compton?" Eric hissed.

"He wanted me to work for him."

"On what," Eric and I both asked in tandem.

"Nothing in particular, just stuff, the database and other things."

"Elaborate."

"I will not tell you what I am doing for another King."

Eric took a step towards him, he was barely containing his anger. "Would you mind telling me why you are here then? Why you told me that my wife was in New Zealand under the name of Louisa Gray? Why did you want me to go to New Zealand, what were you planning?"

Bill was unable to answer Eric's questions. The atmosphere in the room was incredibly tense and evident that something was going to break soon. Eric had moved to stand between Bill and I. All of a sudden Bill moved at breakneck speed and had landed on Pam and pulled a stake from somewhere on his person. Pam was immobile yet her fear was evident. Bill no doubt knew he would not live if he killed Pam, so the point of his stake was just rested over her heart.

"Bill," Eric growled, "You will move away from Pam and put the stake down. You will not live for a second longer if you harm her."

"You will let me go, let me return to Georgia and not come after me. You will promise me that, with Sookie's life as my banker if you go against your word."

"I will do nothing of the sort." Eric took a step closer to Bill who growled at him and pushed the stake into Pam's chest slightly drawing a little blood.

Eric's hatred of him was tremendous, but I had an idea. I placed a hand on Eric's shoulder and moved to his side, still standing as close to him as possible.

"Bill, look at me Bill." I said in the softest voice I could manage. As soon as his eyes met my own I had captured him and I knew that he was within my glamour. I could feel Eric's pride in what I was doing. I instructed Bill to move away from Pam, which he did without question and went to sit back on the other sofa. "Why are you here?"

"I was to lure Eric to New Zealand where he would be caught and then held captive in silver for the rest of his days."

"Why? Who wanted this?"

"The King of Georgia. He hoped that if Eric was bound then it would lure him you to him and he would capture you to have him as his own."

"You will sit there quietly until I say otherwise." I turned to Eric who had a murderous expression on his face. "What will we do with him? Do you wish me to ask more of him?"

"No, I think we've heard enough. Release him, I wish him to know what is happening when I stake him."

"Bill," he looked at me and I released the glamour I had placed on him. His face was instant confusion, but before he could do anything Eric had ripped him from the sofa onto the floor and driven a stake into his chest. As Bill exploded into goo, the three of us looked on. I could not help but feel a pang of sadness that my first lover had just died, but the fact that he had tried to lure Eric and then me into a trap was unforgivable.

Eric and I were both covered in Bill goo, yet somehow Pam had managed to avoid getting dirty. She left her position on the sofa, stepping precariously around the stain on the carpet that once was Bill Compton. She came to me and kissed me on the cheek.

"Thank you, Sookie. My Sister you have saved my life. You can wear whatever you choose tomorrow night!"

"Gee, thanks Pam!" She gave Eric a nod as they'd obviously been discussing something between them and she left the room. Eric turned to me.

"Sookie, thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done if he had killed Pam. Killing him would not have been enough. You truly are a magnificent vampire." He kissed me softly on my lips in a gentle yet passionate and heart-felt kiss.

"Eric, I would never think twice about doing that for any of our nest. You are all too important to me. I love you. And I love Pam and Amelia, though maybe not quite in the same way!" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Come, let us get clean."

He carried me in his arms back down to our room and deposited me in the huge shower when we had lost our clothes. Once we had washed the remains of Bill of us we got down and dirty as Eric pushed me against the wall and entered into me with an almighty grunt. Our lovemaking was passionate and needy, and not in the slightest bit gentle. He was pounding into me with some force while he nipped at my neck. I moved my hand to his butt and dug my finger nails in as I pulled him closer to me. We reached our climax at the same time and he bit into my breast as I threw my head back against the wall of the shower.

Once we were dry and had climbed into bed we made love one more time before Eric wrapped me up in his arms waiting for daylight to catch us.

"I want to thank you, Sookie. I look forward to the rest of eternity with you." He kissed me on the back of my neck, his fangs running along the back of my shoulder as I shuddered. "I love you, my wife."

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_Thanks for reading. I'm off to Paris for 5 days so it will be a while before I can update again, but maybe I will get some inspiration!_


	22. Chapter 22

_Sorry for the delay, it took me a while to get back in to writing after being away. Thank you for your continued reviews, they make me want to write more._

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I awoke the next morning to find Eric's beautiful blue eyes intense on my own. As I awoke he smiled and leaned in closer to kiss me as I rolled over to face him. "I don't think I could ever get tired of waking up next to you."

I smiled. "Good job Mister, you're going to be doing it for a long time!" I kissed him again. "How long have you been awake?" Eric had not taken long to go back to the usual sleeping habits of a thousand year old plus vampire, and looked exactly as he did when I first met him nearly fifteen years previous. It was evident how much my absence had hurt him, and this was something I planned on discussing with Pam and Amelia when we were alone.

"About an hour, the sun has just set. Hungry?" He cocked an eyebrow at me and I assumed his double meaning.

"Starving, who's to eat?"

"I'm sure I can find you someone, but for now you are!"

He grinned at me as he rolled on top of me and began nibbling down my neck, my body involuntarily bucking underneath him. His lips went ever further south paying special attention to my nipples before reaching their destination. After brining me to an incredible orgasm he pulled on my ankles so I met him further down the bed. He was kneeling on the bed and he grabbed a pile of pillows to place under my butt. Once in position he entered me at an incredible angle, instantly causing me to cry out and I shut my eyes tightly earning a telling off from Eric who always liked to look into my eyes when we made love.

It did not take long for me to reach my second orgasm of the night, and in a moment of clear-headedness I grabbed hold of him and pulled him down onto the bed so I could be as close as possible to him. My legs wrapped instinctively around him and I breathed in his scent as he continued to pound into me. I could feel him swell as he was close and at the same time we both took the initiative to bite into each others shoulders at the same time.

We both growled as our mutual releases hit us but continued to drink from each other, relishing his cool blood flowing into my mouth. He tasted incredible, much better then he ever did when I was human. The love and closeness that was flowing between us was intense and I could have spent forever in that moment. He remained within me as we laid in each others arms, his weight pushing me into the bed but entirely welcome as I no longer needed to breathe. He was nibbling at my collar bone and I was softly chewing on a strand of his hair while my nails ran over his muscled, glowing back.

It was only when my hunger was beginning to get the better of me that Eric moved and pulled me towards the bathroom, stopping to heat us both a blood on the way. "We'll eat properly when we get upstairs, but for now lets clean and get changed. I believe that Pam has bought you an outfit for your girls night later tonight, but as she quite rightly said last night, you certainly do not have to wear it any longer!"

After finishing our bloods and disposing of the bottles we got into the shower and actually managed to not have sex again, something of a rarity. We towelled off and I changed into a casual jersey dress until I could inspect what Pam had brought for me. I was fairly certain that I would not be wearing Pam's choice of clothes, but I was prepared to entertain my sister.

Eric stopped me as we left our room. "Sookie, I want to thank you again for last night. You have yet again proved to be incredible. I don't know what I would have done if Pam had been staked by Compton. You are my everything. I cannot wait to see the vampire that you can become."

I pushed him into the wall with a force that almost sounded like we may have done some damage and pinned him against the wall with a strength I didn't know I possessed. I made a mental note to check later to see if a crack had formed. I kissed him hard on the lips. "Eric. After the shit I have pulled you need to know that I would do anything for you, for all us and for your state. You are my world. I love you. Now, I'm starving, so lets get some breakfast."

We headed upstairs and went up into the den. Eric had indicated to a vampire as we passed to send in two humans and within a few seconds a male and a female came in. I didn't particularly like the thought of having humans within the household to be fed from, but I understood it was the acceptable thing for a vampire king to have, and I knew they were paid generously and treated well. I sat down on one of the sofas while Eric sat on another and indicated for the female to come to me. I had learnt early on that my walls needed to be at maximum strength when I fed as I never enjoyed hearing the thoughts of the donors that I fed from. The thoughts were usually sexual, and since I had no plans on having sex with anyone other than Eric I just blocked them out.

Once I was done I looked over to Eric feeding from the male who was enjoying himself far too much. I couldn't help but feel amused as the dark-haired male of around thirty came into his pants when Eric was feeding from him. I felt am intense wave of annoyance from him and as soon as Eric, and the donor, were done Eric immediately turned on him, glamoured him and sent him packing from the household. Apparently such performances around Eric were not welcome.

"He was new, but he will be keeping his distance from vampires in future." I smirked at him as I walked over to wrap my arms around him.

"Well, I can't blame the guy to be honest, who wouldn't blow their load when you're feeding from them! Its why I always block their thoughts out when I feed. Its even worse when you actually know what they're thinking." I realised it must be awkward for Eric to feed from men, and I got the feeling what happened was a somewhat regular occurrence. "Eric, I'm more than happy for you to feed from females. I trust you. I know that nothing other than feeding will happen, and I'm sure the females within this compound know that you would not have sex with them."

He regarded me, his emotions complicated, and then a wave of joy came over him. "That you could consider me in that way is truly incredible. I love you Sookie Northman. I may take you up on that offer when you are in the room, but otherwise I am quite happy on bottled and bagged blood." He kissed me passionately on the lips and pulled me on top of him in a straddling position. We were interrupted by Pam and Amelia coming into the room.

"I'm afraid, my child, that we are going to have to get used to this with these two." Pam smirked at us as she spoke to Amelia and was answered by a growl from deep within Eric's chest. I simply smiled sweetly at her and kissed Eric once more on his neck. I moved to get off Eric's lap when I felt him harden against his jeans, but he pulled me back down on to him and he let out sound which was somewhere between a growl and a moan. I went to kiss him softly on the cheek, but his teeth found my neck and he bit savagely into me, drawing hard from me while two long fingers slipped under my dress and inside me, causing me to scream loudly as I came.

As I recovered from my orgasm I could feel Eric's mischievousness and humour – he had made me orgasm with Pam and Amelia in the room. I was hugely embarrassed by what he had done and I was furious that he had done that in public, even if it was just Pam and Amelia. Amelia, Pam and Eric started laughing loudly at my embarrassment and my anger quickly took over me. I tried to get up off Eric's lap to run downstairs, but Eric's grip was too tight on me as he continued to laugh at me. I wanted to be alone to recompose myself, I did not like it that Eric had embarrassed me in that way when I was only trying to show my affection to him. I had never liked or been used to even feeding in public, letting alone intimate sex acts, and it was of my human traits that still was strong within me.

"Let me go, Eric," I growled at him, shoving him back into his seat with all my force and managing to get out of his grip. I moved towards the door as quick as I could, but Pam had beat me to it and I crashed into her and the closed door behind her, which gave way at the force of both of us. Her grip was loosened on me, but I could sense that Eric was about to come up behind me so forced myself out of the older vampire's grasp and headed towards the front door of the compound.

I had never been outside of these rooms, so had no idea what was out there, but in that moment I wanted to be away, to have a few moments on my own, to recompose myself before I faced Eric again. I didn't like that I was running from Eric, but I was more worried that I would say or do something unforgivable if I stayed near him. I heard Eric shouting to me behind me, sending me his love and sorrow. I could feel his upset, but I was still feeling too unstable to face him, ten years of feelings coming back to me – the hurt and the loneliness that Eric had abandoned me. As soon as I was out of the door I had an incredible urge to be away from there, to be somewhere familiar.

I could sense Eric and Pam quickly closing in on me, but all of a sudden I felt the world spin away from me and I landed in a heap in a darkened room. I knew instantly that I had somehow teleported myself here and that I was no where near Louisiana as the brains of the humans I could sense were thinking in Swedish. I could still faintly feel Eric, but could not sense any kind of emotion from him. I tried my absolute best to use my fear of being away from him to teleport myself back home, but I could not. I wondered if it was the fear that Eric would be mad that I had yet again run away from him, even if it was unintentional to go this far.

As I looked around the room I realised I was in my old flat in Stockholm, my stuff exactly as I had left it before I left with Gunnar to go to Bermuda. I sat down on the bed and felt a cold tear trickle down my face – how had I let this happen again. I completely over reacted to them laughing at me, and it had only been seconds earlier that I had had an intense orgasm from Eric feeding from me. I had never been comfortable with public displays of affection other than kissing, and even if we had had sex on that same sofa the night before it was different when it was deliberately done when others were in the room.

Eric and I had only been back together for less than a week and we needed time to get to know each other again. I needed to contact him, and was aware that he would be losing his mind at this instant. I looked around my flat for my old computer to try and find the number for the New Orleans complex but remembered that I had given it away before leaving.

Instead I grabbed a coat out of the wardrobe and ran out of the flat, running as quick as I could towards the Royal Palace. I hoped that yet again Gunnar would be willing to help me. I reached the palace in record time as luckily the winter streets were quiet at this time of the morning. I was stopped by the Royal Guards.

"Please, I need to see the King, let me in." I was almost pleading and aware how pathetic I sounded.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, but I need to see him! He's an old friend and I need his help."

"No appointment, no entry." The guard went back to his duty and completely ignored me standing there.

Exasperated, I got the guard to look at me and caught him in my glamour. "You will call the King and tell him that Sookie Northman is here and would like his help." The immediately did just that and I heard Gunnar's voice on the other end of the line sound quite surprised. I noticed one of the security cameras moving in my direction and I gave a little wave at the camera. The guard told me that the King was in his office and he escorted me up after asking one of the others to fill his post. We knocked on the door of his office and I was permitted my entrance.

As I walked in I was quite surprised to see that the elf Anja was in his office with her human partner, a tall, handsome, dark-haired man with pale green eyes. Gunnar stood and walked around his desk his light blue eyes showing concern at seeing me there.

"Please tell me you did not glamour my guards to get in here?" There was humour in his voice rather than malice.

"Sorry, Gunnar, I somehow teleported myself to my old flat here after an argument with Eric and I can't seem to go back. I didn't know how else to reach him as I don't have my phone on me." I was aware my desperation was showing in my voice, and he calmly returned to his desk, picked up the phone and dialled a number.

He spoke in English, "Yes, hello. Can I speak to the King … tell him its regarding his wife … its his brother." There was a long pause before Gunnar spoke again and I sunk down onto the nearest chair feeling defeated. Anja came over to me and held my hand supportively and I tried to smile at her, but was feeling too dejected. What if Eric was really mad with me this time and would not take me back? My head shot back up as Gunnar began speaking again. He was speaking quietly in Old Norse so I did not understand what was being said, but I heard my name being mentioned and I buried my head in my hands, Anja gently rubbing my back.

I had expected Gunnar to hand me the phone so I could speak to Eric, to explain what happened, but when Gunnar came back to sit next to me and I realised that he was no longer on the phone I sank to the floor in desolation. He really didn't want me any more. I could not believe that my happiness with Eric had only lasted a few days before things went wrong again. I had promised him I would never leave him and then did exactly that. Even if I had not intended to come back to Stockholm I was still running from him. Eric had always been right that my first instinct was always to run, and I still did it, even to the man I loved above all others.

"Sook, he's upset that you left in the way you did, that you ran from him. Just give him a while to calm down and he'll be fine."

"No! I can't do that, I need to see him now!"

"That's not a good idea. I don't think he's in the right frame of mind to be seen by you. It has brought everything back to him. Stay here tonight and then you can speak to him tomorrow." Gunnar got up and went back to sit behind his desk and Anja moved back to her husband.

I could not wait a night to see him, I had lost him once, I would not lose him again. Gunnar and Anja were talking amongst themselves but I was too lost in my own world to notice what they were saying. I was trying to remember what I did to come here in the first place, and all I could remember was an intense need to be somewhere else, to be at home. I focused on Eric, my need for him, my love for him and wished with all my being that I could be with him. I started to feel a little dizzy, but again the world swirled beneath me and I found myself landing in a heap on the floor of Eric's office seconds before his desk was overturned and landed on top of me.

I screamed out in pain as the table landed on me, hitting me hard on the head and partially shattering. I was pushed down onto the ground and landed on my front, my back taking the force of the desk as it smashed further. I heard Eric's voice and I desperately tried to hold onto consciousness as the bulk of the table was lifted from me leaving me on the floor amongst the shards. I was in a huge amount of pain, coming from my back and I could feel that something had penetrated my back and was lodged into my spine, probably breaking a few ribs. I heard Eric let out a gut wrenching cry as he saw me amongst the shards of the broken table.

"Eric, no, don't touch her, you may make it worse." It was Pam's voice who had also been in the room when I landed.

"I have to help her!" I did not know what they were talking about. I tried to move but I was in too much pain.

"Sookie, my love, don't move, okay? I'm sorry, I had no idea you were there when I threw the desk. Forgive me." I tried to answer him, but I could not. He must have turned to Pam, "Call Dr Ludwig immediately, we need her help."

I could not work our why they could not help me, what was so wrong with me. I was about to ask when Amelia came flying into the room.

"Oh my God, Sookie! What happened? Eric? Has she been staked?" I instantly started to panic, was that what I could feel in my back, what was causing me all the pain. "Just pull it out of her already!" Amelia moved towards me but Eric growled at her and pushed her back. He bent down to sit by me cupping my face in his hands.

"My love, you have a large wooden shard protruding out of your back and we cannot be sure how close it is to your heart. I have seen this happen before when a vampire has been partially staked and pulling it out can cause as much damage as pushing it in." I could feel his heart breaking and a tear escaped his eye. "We need to check with the doctor how best to remove it. Are you in pain?"

I still couldn't find my voice so answered him through our mind connection. _"It hurts like hell, its worse than silver,"_ he flinched as I said that and I knew it would not be good. A thousand year old vampire flinching is never a good thing. _"I'm sorry Eric, I should have stayed in Sweden like you told me to, but I wanted to see you so badly. I'm sorry for running again, I was just upset that you embarrassed me like that in front of Pam and Amelia."_

He smiled down at me kindly. _"My love, I did not intend for you to be embarrassed. Us making love is a beautiful thing, but I understand that you do not want to do that in public and I respect that. I am sorry my love. I lost my temper after I spoke to Gunnar and started to destroy things, I never realised you were there until it was too late. I would never hurt you, you know that don't you?"_

I smiled up at him as best as I could, _"I know that, Eric. I love you."_

He sent pure love to me but I could tell that he was also scared. Scared that I would become finally dead and scared it would be the end of him. I was losing my battle with consciousness and the next thing I knew I was being examined incredibly carefully by Dr Ludwig. Eric was silent behind her with Amelia and Pam clinging onto each other just behind him. It seemed that everyone was waiting with baited breath for her verdict.

"Well, Northman, I can safely say that this one has most certainly got herself in trouble this time. The tip of the wooden shard is embedded in her heart. If you were to remove it then it would kill her. I am sorry Northman, there is nothing I can do for her. I would suggest that you say your goodbyes and plunge it downwards, it will be less painful for her."

I heard Eric let out a heart-wrenching cry and the pain coming from him was intense. Pam and Amelia joined him in his sorrow, both sobbing loudly. Eric picked the doctor up in both hands and held her so she was at his face level. "You will do something, she cannot die, do you understand? Can the tip of the wood be left in so that she heals around it?"

"You will put me down now vampire if you intend me to answer your question." He placed her down onto the ground and kneeled by my head gently stroking my hair. His eyes were full of sadness and his cheeks were stained by red tears. "There is a slim possibility that it could be done, but all it would take would be a slight knock to her and the shard may move and she would be instant vampire goo." Eric growled at her, baring his teeth. "Put those fangs away, you asked for my opinion and I have given it to you. I am sorry, but I am unable to help your wife."

With that she picked up her bag and turned to leave the room, it was Amelia who stopped her on her way out. "Is there anything I can do, can magic help?"

The doctor paused before answering. "It's a possibility, but I doubt you have the kind of magic that can help her. A fairy would have been your best bet, or an elf if you can find one – but good luck with that."

As Dr Ludwig left the room everyone let out another moan of grief at the situation I was in, and a tear of Eric's landed on my shoulder. I on the other hand felt vaguely hopeful. _"Call Gunnar. He was with the elf Anja when I found him earlier, she may help us."_ He smiled at me and kissed me gently on the head. I heard him on the phone to Gunnar speaking in Old Norse and when he returned his mood was slightly less black.

"You are contacting the elf I found before?" Pam enquired, obviously keen to remind us it was her who found her in the first place.

"Yes, she apparently was holding a meeting with Gunnar when Sookie arrived there earlier. She is coming." He turned back to me. "Hold on, Sookie, please hold on." His eyes begged me and I did everything I could to calm myself, to not let the pain of the wood in my spine consume me. I was also beginning to get hungry but knew that Eric would not have wanted to let me feed until I was healed, if that was possible.

Around what must have been ten minutes later, Anja arrived with her husband Kalle and Gunnar, and another vampire tall blonde female vampire I did not recognise. I was amazed that Anja had the power to transport all these with her. She knelt by Eric and held my hand sympathetically. "I am sorry this has happened to you, my child, I should not have let go of you. Forgive me." Her aquamarine eyes shone with emotion and I smiled to her, unable to form words. She gently stroked my face showing she understood. She stood up and turned to the collection of vampires in the room. "Would I be right in assuming that you are all related by blood, that there is one common element between you all?"

Eric did not look too impressed at being reminded of Appius. "Yes, Gunnar and I were both share the same maker, Pam and Sookie and my children, and Vina is Gunnar's. Amelia is Pam's child and younger than Sookie, but also a witch." So the unknown vampire was Gunnar's child and second. Gunnar had told me that she was the vampire who found me using her own gift and it was therefore her that I owed thanks to for finding me in Stockholm.

"Well, this should work with two of you being as old as you are and the rest of your family. Eric, I will need a vessel that you can all combine your blood in, can you get me one?" Eric nodded to her and around a minute later came back holding the ancient goblet we had used when we bound to each other. I was quite surprised to see if considering Eric's destructive nature after our split, but he also had the knife still, so I assumed he managed to preserve some items. Anja turned back to me and leaned closer to the piece of wood lodged in my back. "It's a good job that you called me, she will not survive for too much longer. We must act fast."

I tried to quell my own panic, but Eric's was all consuming. It was my turn to send him all the love and calm I could, and he turned back to me, love in his eyes. Anja commanded the vampires to add their blood in age order, starting with Eric and finishing with Amelia. Eric has also brought out the bonding knife and they used that to slit each of their wrists. I wondered whether there would be any additional significance of this. I also felt Eric's apprehension when Gunnar added his blood into the mix as I'd already tasted his powerful blood, and he'd had mine. I imagined Eric was wondering the same thing as to whether I would have any kind of bond with him.

Once all the vampires had added their blood to the goblet, Anja asked the vampires to stand back from her and took the knife and cut her wrist adding her own blood to the mixture. We all got a whiff of her blood and if I hadn't been so incapacitated I may well have moved towards her. I noticed that Pam had to hold Amelia back to keep her under control.

Anja came to kneel by me, "Sookie, what I am going to do is perform a little elvish magic and then pull the shard out of your back," she turned to Eric. "Eric, I need you to hold Sookie and help her drink from the goblet. With the magic I will be performing and the combined magic of all your blood, she should get through this."

"Should?" Eric hissed.

Anja let out a sigh. "This is the best shot she has. I am confident this will work, but I can make no guarantees. Are you ready Sookie?"

I finally found my voice. "Yes, I am ready for this." Eric moved to be my side while Anja was on my other side. "Eric, if this does not work you will not take it out on Anja, she is trying to help me. Know that I love you, that I have always loved you. I know things have not been perfect between us, in fact the last ten years away from you have been hell, but I could not have been without you. I truly love you with all that I am and all I have ever been. And thank you for loving me."

We both had bloody tears rolling down our faces as Anja indicated that now was the time. She gave Eric the goblet and then gently took hold of the wooden shard and the pain instantly increased. I could feel the magic flowing from her as she whispered in some unknown, yet soothing, language. Once she had finished she took hold of the wooden shard and pulled it from me in one swift movement. I cried out in pain and felt myself drifting away. I could hear Eric almost yelling at me to drink from the goblet and with the last ounce of strength I had I lifted my head to allow him to pour the concoction down my throat.

I was still not entirely conscious of what was going on around me, but I could hear Eric talking to me, his emotions flowing through me urging me to fight. I was trying all I could, but I couldn't help but feel that I was losing my battle. My back still hurt like hell where the wooden shard had been removed from my spine, and I just didn't feel like I was healing. I tried to open my eyes to take one last look at Eric, but then the world fell away from me.

* * *

_Sorry... _

_I guess this is my version of Dead in the Family!_


	23. Chapter 23

_Sorry for the delay in posting, had a very busy week so no evening time to write._

* * *

"_You should drink, Eric. You have hardly fed or even slept these last three days."_

"_No, Pam."_

"_Master, please. She would want you to be healthy."_

"_Do not talk about her like she is no longer here. She is not finally dead and you will do well to remember that."_

"_She would still want you to be healthy"_

"_Pam, I'm warning you. Leave."_

"_Please, just drink this. You have been awake for nearly three days solid. You shouldn't even be able to do that. You need to feed, and I don't want to leave you on your own..."_

"_PAM, I command you to leave, NOW!"_

Wherever I was it was dark. I could occasionally hear snapshots of the world around me, but not constantly. I was scared, I had no idea what had happened or where exactly my consciousness was, if that is what this was. I almost felt like I was in limbo. I was obviously not finally dead as I would be vampire goo, and Eric was sat with me, but I could not feel him and I could not feel my body. It had obviously been three days since the elf removed the shard of wood from my back, and I assumed I was still at the New Orleans compound that was now my home, but I did not know what was happening. Could I get out of whatever prison I was in?

"_My love, please don't leave me. I need you with me. You have to fight, come back to me. I'm sorry for embarrassing you the way I did and I'm sorry for losing my temper, for not speaking to you on the phone. I need another chance, my love, I cannot be without you."_

I could hear from his voice the pain he was in, his voice strained, his accent more pronounced than normal. He sounded tired, evidence that he really had not in fact slept since my injury. I was trying to battle towards him, to pick up on his voice in the darkness, to use it to pull myself towards. Yet it was not a constant, the darkness would consume me and I could no longer hear him. I tried to head in the same direction, to head towards that glimmer of light that was Eric.

"_Pam was a nightmare when she was first turned. I had more control over her than I do you, I could at least compel her to do as I wished, but I tried not to control her in that way more than I had to. From being a repressed Victorian Lady she enjoyed the freedom that vampirism brought her too much. She relished in her new undead existence, you almost wouldn't recognise her. It has taken many years to become the cool, sardonic vampire we all know and love. She was spirited as she tried to live her human life in the way she could not have before. But she was vampire, and it took her time to adjust. A lot longer than it took you, but she'll hate me for telling you that ..."_

Eric was constantly talking to me, and although I could occasionally hear other voices in the room, it was his that I clung to, his that was trying to draw me out of this nightmare. I had no idea of the time that had passed and I was worried about Eric, was he okay? I stepped up my battle to escape the darkness, to escape from this prison that was probably my own mind. I tried to call out to him, could he hear me? Was I shouting out loud or to him through our mind connection?

I felt something cold land on my arm and a little pressure, but I could feel for the first time. I tired with all my might to focus on this sensation, to anchor myself on this and pull towards it. I could hear hushed voices in the room, but it was not Eric's rather Pam and Gunnar's.

"_I have never seen him so bad, even when she was away for ten years. At least then he relished his sleep. Gunnar, I don't know what else I can do. He is catatonic. What else can I do?"_

"_I have known him for nearly a thousand years and never seen him come close to reacting this way. I have never heard of a vampire having as little sleep as he has. I do not know what affect this may have on him. I do not want to involve Appius, but I am considering contacting the Ancient Pythoness. She may be willing to help."_

"_I am worried for his Kingdom, he has not put in a public performance for some weeks now, his enemies may get ideas."_

"_I understand your concerns."_

"_Have you spoken to Anja? Is there nothing else she can do?"_

"_Not for Sookie. She may be able to help Eric but he would have to be willing to accept her help, and he will see that as giving up."_

"_He will not give up on her."_

"_No, he will not."_

Things were really that bad. The pressure on my arm seemed to increase and I strove towards the sensation, did all I could to come back to my body. To come back to Eric. I was starting to regain feeling, I could make out that Eric's head was on my right shoulder, one arm holding onto my arm, the other draped across my body. I could feel his hair on my neck and shoulder, but he was completely still and lost within himself. I was desperate to know that he was okay.

But I did not seem to have the strength to move or even open my eyes. I knew I needed blood. I had no idea quite how long I had been gone, but I had a feeling it was longer than a few days. And still a relatively young vampire I was weak. I had survived for four months while the daylight held me under in Svalbard, but that was different to this. Then, I just felt like I had been sleeping for a long time, which was of course the case. But now I was weak. I tried with all I could to make some indication to the vampires in the room that I was aware of my surroundings, but I could not. I could hear Pam and Gunnar talking quietly amongst themselves, but little else.

"_Eric,"_ I was searching for some scrap of our bond, to call to him. _"Eric, I need you."_

I could not tell if he heard me or not, but I felt that our bond was suddenly stronger, like Eric was trying to contact me as well from his end. I felt him shift slightly in position, but I still could not move even my eyelids. I felt a few sparks from our connection, felt a flicker of emotion from Eric.

"_Eric, I need your help!"_

"Sookie? My lover can you hear me, come to me, come to my voice. I love you, my wife. Please come back to me."

He took my hand and leant in, kissing me softly on my lips. Pam and Gunnar had stopped talking and I could sense they had moved closer to us.

"_Eric, I can hear you, but I just can't move. I feel so weak."_

I instantly felt Eric's cool wet wrist at my mouth as his blood trickled down my throat. The connection between us sprang back into life as I felt him again. I could feel his tiredness, the exhaustion running through him. His emotions were in turmoil. He had been heartbroken by my injury, by the fact that I had been unconscious for such a long time, but he was elated that I had spoken to him, even if it was only in his mind.

"She needs human blood, and lots of it. Pam, can you heat her some human B+ blood and bring a straw for her."

I could feel Eric stroking my head until he lifted my head slightly, propping some pillows behind me to hold me up and placed the blood to my lips. At first he had to pour the blood down my neck, forcing me to swallow, but after a while my hunger took over and he was able to let me feed using the straw. Once one glass was emptied I was provided with another, Eric constantly by my side looking after me.

I was finally able to open my eyes and the first thing I could focus on was Eric's beautiful sapphire blue eyes, rimmed with red, intent upon my own. His eyes were soft with emotion and with our bond partially restored I could feel the love coming from him. But he actually looked awful. Worse than he had after being apart for ten years. His lack of sleeping had caused this in whatever short time I had been unconscious. I was determined to do all I could for my husband. Pam came up behind him with another glass of blood for me.

"Give it to Eric."

"Sookie, no, you need to feed ..."

"And so do you. You look like you haven't fed in a week."

"Try two weeks," was Pam's sardonic response as she stood behind her maker, glass in hand still.

"Pamela!" Eric hissed.

"Eric," I looked deep into his eyes, "Thank you for staying with me. Thank you for pulling me from the darkness. But please, I need you to be well. I need your strength. Please feed. I will drink the glass of Pam's if you promise me to feed from a human."

He indicated to Pam to bring a human in for him to feed from, and I drank another two glasses of blood, feeling that I finally had the strength to move. I moved my hand to Eric's face, my thumb gently stroking his cheek as we stared deep into each other's eyes. This was interrupted by Pam bringing two male humans into the room. I nodded to Eric to go and feed, and he drank deeply from each one in turn before rejoining my side.

"Where were you?" he asked me tenderly.

"I do not know. It was dark, I could occasionally hear you and I knew I had to fight to come back to you. I would not have made it through the darkness if you had not been by my side. Thank you, Eric. I love you. And I will do all I can to stop running from you, to stop running every time something happens."

He smiled at me, though it was almost a smirk. He looked better having fed, his complexion slightly warmer and the twinkle was back in his eye. I had a feeling that he didn't entirely believe me that I would stop running, but I was going to make a conscious effort to stop running from him whenever we fought or something went wrong.

After my sixth glass of warmed human blood I felt better and slowly sat up, testing my muscles but almost feeling as good as normal. Pam and Gunnar had remained in the room, and Amelia and Anja shortly joined them, Amelia shrieking when she saw that I was up and awake but being held back by Pam when she tried to run to me. I was Eric's in this instant. I turned to face Gunnar.

"Has Vina left?"

"Yes, she has gone back to Stockholm to keep an eye on things. I am glad that you are well, Sook, you had us all very scared."

I didn't particularly like the thought of vampires actually scared, especially ones as old as Eric and Gunnar. And I couldn't help but feel a connection to all those in the room since I had had all their blood, even Anja's. I wondered whether it would affect me in any way other than forming a closeness to them.

"I want to thank you all for helping me in the way you did. I know how jealous vampires are of their blood and I truly appreciate it that you would give it to me freely. I love you all, and I see you as my family. And thank you for doing all you can for Eric, I know that you have been here for him. I just want things to go back to normal, to be with Eric here in New Orleans. I love this vampire." I went to kiss him tenderly on his lips but was met by a much more passionate kiss as Eric pulled me to him and wrapped his body around my own.

As he pulled back slightly from me to allow some free space for his lips he addressed the others. "You can all leave us now. We are both fine. We will talk further tomorrow night. I thank you for your help, especially you, Pam, I know I have been a royal pain in the ass."

Pam smirked as she left the room earning a playful growl from Eric who had come to lay next to me on the bed. I rolled over so I was facing him and we kissed tenderly for a while, just enjoying the closeness, our hands lightly caressing each other but nothing overtly sexual. I had been wondering whether my relationship would change with the other vampires who had given their blood to me, and I had no idea whether bonds could be formed being that I was vampire myself. I was particularly worried about Gunnar considering our past history and also his age. I realised that Eric and I needed to talk about this.

"Eric, will the fact that I have drunk the blood of all you guys change anything?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "In most cases, no. Vampires do not often let other vampires have their blood. Occasionally this happens if two vampires do form a relationship, or in a nest if one vampire is gravely injured and human blood would not be strong enough. It is likely to make you feel closer to each of them. I do not quite understand what will happen with the elf, but she has very powerful blood and I do not fully understand the effect this will take. It seems she does not fully know either, but she feels it is likely that it may enhance your abilities. But then teleporting yourself over five thousand miles to Sweden was pretty powerful."

"I had absolutely no idea I could do that!"

"I know, lover, we were all very surprised when you disappeared in from of our very eyes. I kept on waiting for you to come back, but you did not. I flew around but I just did not feel you anywhere close. I even called Rasul in Area 5 to see if you were at your farm house, but he confirmed you weren't. That was when I started to get angry. When Gunnar phoned to say that you were with him I lost it all together, and I am sorry. The thought of you teleporting away from me to him ..." he trailed off, and I was glad as I did not want to hear the end of that sentence.

"Eric," I began slowly, "I didn't go to him. I found myself in my apartment in Stockholm, I think I wanted to be somewhere familiar. It was two in the morning and I had given my computer away so had no way of contacting you as I didn't have my phone on me. I knew that Gunnar was my best bet to contact you. I am sorry, I truly am."

"Sookie, it is I who should be sorry. Gunnar did explain all that to me, yet it was I that pushed you away, told him not to send you back immediately. Please forgive me. If I had spoke to you I would not have thrown a desk on top of you." He kissed me tenderly but with passion and I moaned softly into his mouth, pulling my body closer to his. "And I am making sure my next desk is either made of metal or at least bolted to the floor!"

I couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Of course I forgive you." We kissed for a little longer, my hand running over the chiselled muscles of his chest and arms. "Eric, you said earlier that taking the blood of the others would in most cases not change anything. Were you referring to Gunnar?" My voice was soft but he flinched ever so slightly at my question.

"Yes. It is different with him as he has had your blood before and you his. He is also my brother; it is the same blood that made both of us. It is not possible for you to bond with any other being as we are so tightly bound together, but there will be some kind of bond between the two of you."

"What kind of bond?" I could tell that Eric did not really like my line of questioning, but he answered me nonetheless.

"That, I do not know. I know the two of you do not have any kind of relationship, but he is an old and powerful vampire."

I thought on that for a moment. Maybe in some ways it would be a good thing, someone else who could protect me if the time came. And although Eric and Gunnar were still not on good terms following our indiscretion ten years previous, they were brothers nonetheless and Gunnar had shown his loyalty to Eric over the last two weeks despite having his own kingdom to run. But I was worried about Eric, worried about how things had been here in Louisiana. "Eric, have you been okay? Is Louisiana okay? I have kept you away from it all for a long time."

He looked thoughtful. "Pam has continued to run things much in the same way that she had before I found you again. All is not so different to the outside world. I meant what I said that the two of us need to go away and take some time alone. But we should also put in a public performance."

"You mean we should hold a ball, show the vampire world that you are a great king."

"And that I have a great queen by my side."

Dawn was quickly approaching as Eric pulled the clothes of both us, and we enjoyed the closeness of each other, my skin cold against his. Yet again we needed to reconnect. He kissed down my throat, his large hands palming my breasts as my hands ran through his hair. It was hurried and needy, his fingers sweeping across my sex to test my readiness before plunging two fingers deep within me, his thumb on my clit rubbing at a steady pace.

I let out a disappointed yowl when he removed his fingers from me, but within a second I had been filled by Eric. I was so close and as he pulled all the way out and slammed back into me I reached unknown heights and let out a loud scream, completely incognisant of the many other vampires within the household. Eric allowed me time to come down from my peak before picking his pace back up, nibbling gently on my shoulder as my finger nails dug into his muscled strong shoulders. When we were both close he pulled away from my shoulder to look me in the eye as our orgasms simultaneously hit us and we both bit into each other, our bond fully open and love flowing between us.

In that moment I knew the loss he felt when I was not with him. My spell of unconsciousness had brought back the depression he felt when we were not together before. I knew that he could not be without me, as I could not be without him. I also knew that I would not run from him again. I had seen first hand what my absence had caused, and it nearly killed me. Eric was an old vampire, and before me he had always got things his own way. He had made a lot of concessions to be with me, and I had to do the same for him. I was becoming quite strong in my own right, and my vampire powers were making themselves known – even if they did seem to have Fae tendencies to them. I needed to be an asset to Eric, we needed to work together. I was a vampire and I was therefore entitled to be his queen. If I was still human, things would be different, I would be looked down upon, but I was vampire.

As we laid in each others arms dawn quickly took us, and I awoke the following morning feeling more alive than I ever had as a human. Eric was awake and looked rested and peaceful as he held me in his arms. I leaned in to kiss him and we shared a soft, loving kiss as our bodies melted in to each other. Eric begrudgingly left bed long enough to heat us both breakfast (bagged donor blood), pouring it into large glasses for both of us and climbing back into bed. It struck me as surprisingly domestic, but I needed to be close to him. We made love once more before getting up and then again in the shower, hard with need against the shower wall as he pushed me against the cool tile wall of the shower, pounding into me at vampire speed as I howled with pleasure. I was highly embarrassed that the whole house would have heard me, but realised it was something I was going to have to get used to. Or at least install some sound proofing.

Two hours after sunset we managed to make our way back upstairs to meet with Pam, Amelia and Gunnar. The three of them were all sat on one of the sofas, and all looked somewhat cosy. A guilty look flashed across Amelia's face, who was less used to not revealing her emotions than the other two. Obviously something had gone on, and I suspected it involved the three of them. Eric and I both mirrored our actions as we cocked our eyebrows at them, causing Pam to burst into laughter.

"Wow, you two are just the same vampire! Though I have to say that Sookie is much prettier!"

"What have you three been up to?" Eric asked ignoring Pam's comment.

"Nothing, Master." she was obviously lying and had a huge smirk on her face. Gunnar's face was as impassive as ever.

"Amelia," I asked, "I want to thank you for helping me, you have always been a great friend." She got up and came over to me, throwing her arms around me as I did the same to her. I stepped back so I could look into her eyes. "Do you want to tell me what is going on between the three of you?" As I held her in my glamour I could feel Eric almost explode with laughter.

"Amelia, you will not tell Sookie anything." Pam had approached us and was compelling Amelia to not tell me anything. It was an interesting stand off and one which Eric found incredibly amusing.

"Of course, Pam, you know that I could just compel you to tell us?"

Eric had a beautiful smirk upon his face, and an arrogance that was downright sexy. I wanted nothing more than to drag him back downstairs and tie him to the bed so I could have my wicked way with him. He obviously felt my growing lust and turned to give me a very sexy wink that held promise for me later.

"You know, I don't think you two actually want to know what happened last night. I don't think you want to know all the sordid details of what the three of us got up to. Why don't we just leave it at that." Eric and I shot each other a glance, knowing perfectly well what probably happened between the three of them, but decided to let this one go. I imagined it was still rather painful for Eric where Gunnar was concerned, so I decided I'd probe Amelia at a later date. I heated us all up some blood and poured a glass of red wine each for Anja and Kalle who had joined us.

Eric and I curled up on one of the sofas staring into the roaring fire. I felt blessed to have this time. This truly was a new beginning, a second if not third or fourth chance to get things moving as they should. I looked over to the elf and her human husband and thought back to what she had told Eric and I when we first met. How she had given up her immortality to be with him. When we had met then I didn't want this life, I didn't want to give up my humanity to be with him. But I had been selfish, I had been offered the opposite, immortality (or near enough) as opposed to my fragile human life. If Kalle had been offered immortality would he have refused? I doubted it very much. I was blessed that Eric wanted me by his side forever, and there was no where else I wanted to be.

Amelia, Pam and I rearranged our girls night out and Eric set about returning to work as normal. It took a few weeks for things to fall into place as they should, and we held our ball a month after my return from Europe. It was spectacular and extravagant with many of the other monarchs from around the world attending. I had no idea how respected Eric was within the vampire community. He had a few confrontations with some vampires, and Georgia in particular seemed pissed that Eric was back, but with his power reasserted Eric took control of his state.

Amelia and I went into business together, we both became quite powerful – her with her witchcraft, me with my fairy magic. We took on the chain of bars that was Stackhouses, and also ran a line of witchcraft shops, which became particularly popular when the witches went public of their presence within the now growing supernatural world.

And I was as happy as I had ever been. Life with Eric wasn't perfect, we still clashed horns on things and were still both as stubborn as ever, but we had both learned our lessons and I never did run from him again. Other than leaving the room anyway. We spent all available time together and our love life was never anything less than insatiable.

I truly did love the vampire, and the vampire loved me.

* * *

_I know this isn't the greatest ending in the world. but I felt like this needed to be wrapped up._

_I'm going to be starting something else soon - probably either AH or AU for something a bit different._

_Thanks to everyone for reading or reviewing - I hoped that you have enjoyed reading as much as I've enjoyed writing it._


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